The Welsh Government is committed to making sure its decisions and actions take into account the views of people in Wales. The National Survey for Wales is a key source of information on people’s views about a wide range of issues. This information can only come from directly asking people, and the National Survey is a valuable source of such information that is comparable down to local authority level right across Wales.

The results will be used by the Welsh Government to help make Wales a better place to live. They will help us to do the following:

• make decisions that are based on sound evidence of people’s views and circumstances;
• monitor changes over time to determine the effects of our actions;
• identify areas of good practice that can be implemented more widely; and
• identify areas that would benefit from intensive local support. This will allow such initiatives to be targeted in these areas as effectively as possible.

The study covers a range of topics:

• public services such as health, education, and transport;
• local area and safety; and
• wellbeing.

The National Survey involves face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of people aged 16 and over across Wales, and it runs all year round. The survey interviews are being carried out by two specialist research companies: TNS-BMRB and Beaufort Research Ltd.

The results will be published annually from late summer 2012.  

To contact the Welsh Government team that runs the National Survey, email surveys@wales.gsi.gov.uk.