MEMBERS from Herefordshire Council were in Ledbury town centre meeting with members of the community, answering questions and discussing the budget for 2016 to 2020.

Giving local people an opportunity to have their say, Herefordshire Council provided questionnaires and the completed forms gave their views and opinions on the suggested budgetary priorities.

Cllr Patricia Morgan said: “We had a good day in Ledbury encouraging locals to fill in the council’s budget consultation and also had many very interesting discussions about other local issues."

One of those keen to enter the debate was Nina Shields, chairman of Ledbury Library Support Group, who remarked: “Consultation works best when it's carried out on an ongoing basis. I would prefer to see this done regularly via frontline staff and users/user groups. Then when Herefordshire Council needs to consult tax payers, there are more people who know more about the real issues. I'm not sure how effective this current exercise will prove to be. It's a good principle to come out to the market towns, but the timing means most people who work are excluded.”

The Understanding Herefordshire report provides strategic intelligence for commissioning and business planning for the whole county - to help determine priorities for resource allocation for a sustainable future, regardless of which organisation you are part of. It is an integrated assessment of the health and well-being needs of the people of Herefordshire, bringing together the statutory requirement to produce a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and the previous State of Herefordshire reports (developed over the last decade).

It is essential to understand the place – such as the local economy and environment – in which people live, learn and work as part of understanding their quality of life. Individual determinants of health and quality of life include a person’s age, gender and hereditary factors but there are also the social, economic and environmental determinants of well-being which include lifestyle factors, social and community influences, living and working conditions, activities, the built environment and the natural environment.

Understanding Herefordshire is an annual assessment of the health and well-being needs of the people of Herefordshire. The document can either be viewed at

factsandfigures.herefordshire.gov.uk/Understanding-Herefordshire