TWO organisations now making cuts and losing jobs have spent £92,000 issuing a “happiness” survey.

Officials at Kirklees Council claim that 676 full-time jobs will be lost this year and £64m needs to be axed from their balance sheets by 2015.

But in a joint venture with NHS Kirklees – which has also faced financial challenges – they have spent £92,000 sending out a survey to 55,000 random Kirklees households.

The cost was split 50/50 between the two organisations.

Mirfield Town councillor James Taylor was outraged when he received the Community Learning in Kirklees (CLiK) survey on health, wellbeing, behaviour and happiness and described it as “pointless” and “a waste of money.”

The 16-page questionnaire gives participants five options ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree and asks them to respond to different statements.

This includes sentences such as:

I have been feeling optimistic about the future.

I have been useful.

I have been feeling relaxed.

I’m feeling confident in myself.

Mr Taylor, who is the son of Kirklees councillor Kath Taylor, said: “With all the cuts being made at the council and within the NHS I was appalled to discover this survey costs around £92,000 to issue.

“Without a doubt that £92,000 – or 22p per person – could be better spent.