A very progressive move by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health in the UK.
This year the survey is being supported by RH Environmental (RHE).
Why is CIEH noise survey important?
This noise survey provides the only source of regular national information on the important contribution made by environmental health professionals working to resolve noise and noise nuisance complaints.
Some of the data from CIEH’s survey has also been adopted into the Public Health Outcomes Framework which is administered by Public Health England (PHE). This provides an important link between noise and health outcomes. As the department responsible for setting national policy on noise, Department for the Environment, Food, Rural Affairs, also draw on CIEH data on noise. The data was also referenced in the Chief Medical Officer annual report of 2017 to emphasise the importance of noise as a public health issue.
We will also be using the data to engage with Welsh Government, to try and establish a stronger understanding of the links between noise and public health.
How will we use this data?
We will be sharing the data received with colleagues at DEFRA and PHE. CIEH will also use it to inform media press releases to highlight the work of EHPs.
What has changed?
CIEH has been running its noise survey since 2000 and collecting noise data from local authorities for much longer than that. However, with the response rates slowly dropping over recent years, we took a break last year in order to improve the survey and make it easier and simpler to submit.
How you can help
By providing us with information on the number of noise complaints received in a 12 month period and your work to resolve these in your local area. We are interested in as much or as little data you can provide – everything is useful.
Who would we like data from?
We are only collecting data from England and Wales. This is because Northern Ireland and Scotland have their own data collections systems in place, led by central Government. No such collections exist in England and Wales.
What data do I have to provide?
We will ask you some basic questions about which LA you’re submitting data for and the timeframe the data is for (financial year or other).
Minimum required information:
- Total number of noise complaints received
- Total number of notices served
- Staffing levels for noise related work
Additional (optional) information:
- Total number of prosecutions
- The size of the population served by the LA
- Breakdowns of noise complaints by sector
If you have any difficulties completing this survey or need to contact us for any reason, please email: policy@cieh.org