Housing Customer Engagement Annual Report 2021-22 CAH 17 01 23
Renfrewshire Council · 17 January 2023
Back to Communities and Housing Policy Board — 17 January 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities and Housing Policy Board On: 17 January 2023 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Communities & Housing Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Housing Customer Engagement Annual Report 2021/22 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Housing Customer Engagement Annual Report for 2021/22 reviews activities in relation to engagement and consultation over the last year and outlines the resources made available by the Council to promote tenant involvement. 2. Recommendations 2.1. It is recommended that the Policy Board: i. note the Housing Customer Engagement Annual Report 2021/22 attached as appendix 1; and ii. note that due to the relaxing of restrictions which were in place relating to Covid, the normal annual re-registration process for Tenants and Residents Associations will be introduced for all tenants groups for 2023/24 registration year. 3. Background 3.1. This Housing Customer Engagement Annual Report outlines how the Council has engaged with tenants and other customer groups over the period April 2021 to March 2022. It also sets out an action plan for the current financial year 2022/23. Key drivers for this are: Regulatory and statutory duties to consult with tenants and to involve tenants in the scrutiny of performance; and
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Consultation and engagement with tenants and other customer groups to inform ongoing service development and continuous improvement. 3.2. The Customer Engagement Annual Report will be circulated to Tenants’ and Residents’ Groups and partner organisations. It will be available online from the Council’s website and will be made available in Council offices when they reopen to the public. 3.3. Members are asked to note the proposed reintroduction of the annual registration process for Tenants and Residents Associations in 2023/24 due to the lifting of Coronavirus pandemic restrictions as detailed in section 3 of the attached report. Enhanced Registration status, where applicable, was carried forward from March 2020 into this financial year and it is proposed that the carry forward will stop for the 2023/24 registration year. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – None. 2. HR & Organisational Development – None. 3. Community Planning – Safer and Stronger – Tenant and resident involvement in service development to create more stable communities and improve service delivery. 4. Legal – None. 5. Property/Assets – None. 6. Information Technology – None. 7. Equality & Human Rights – The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety – None. 9. Procurement – None. 10. Risk – None. 11. Privacy Impact – None. 12. Cosla Policy Position – Not applicable.
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13. Climate Risk – None. Background Papers a) Report to the Communities Housing and Planning Policy Board on 18 January 2022, ‘Customer Engagement Annual Report 2020/21’. The foregoing background papers will be retained within Communities, and Housing Services for inspection by the public for the prescribed period of four years from the date of the meeting. The contact officer within the service is Ray Walkinshaw, Housing Regeneration & Development Manager, 07483146814, ray.walkinshaw@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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Appendix 1 Customer Engagement Annual Report 2021 – 2022 Service Improvement Team Communities and Housing Services
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1. Renfrewshire Council’s Tenant Participation Strategy The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 requires every social landlord to have a strategy on how they will involve tenants in shaping and monitoring services, including: Housing management, repairs and maintenance policies, Standards of service to be provided in relation to housing management, repairs and maintenance policies; and Any proposal to change landlord. Renfrewshire Council’s new Tenant Participation Strategy for Housing was approved by this Board in October 2022. It recognises the importance of these issues and sets out plans for widening the scope of engagement across a broad range of customer groups. 2. 2021/22 Annual Report This Report outlines how the Council has engaged with tenants and customer groups over the period April 2020 to March 2021. Along with a continuing focus on tenant participation, the Council has also sought to engage with a broad group of customers on housing and housing related issues. The 2020/21 Action Plan at the end of this report reflects several key drivers which influence the Council’s approach to customer engagement, including: Regulatory and statutory duties to consult with tenants and to involve tenants in the scrutiny of performance; Consultation and engagement with tenants and customer groups to inform ongoing service development and continuous improvement; The development of a new Customer Engagement Strategy which reflects current and future priorities and outcomes; and Opportunities for continual enhancement of digital participation. 3. Tenant Participation Arrangements The participation outcome for the Scottish Social Housing Charter requires landlords to ‘manage their business so that; tenants and other customers find it easy to participate in and influence their landlord’s decisions at a level they feel comfortable with’. The results of the Tenant Satisfaction Survey (2022) indicated that 99% of tenants were ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ satisfied with the opportunities provided to them to participate in the Council’s (as their landlord’s) decision making processes which was an improvement from the 2020 survey result of 93.7%.
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Renfrewshire Council’s tenant participation arrangements seek to support engagement at both local and Renfrewshire-wide levels. Registered Tenants’ Organisations (RTOs) The Council maintains a register of all Tenant Organisations in Renfrewshire. Tenant organisations which meet the Council’s registration criteria (as agreed by the Housing and Community Safety Policy Board in August 2010) are included in Renfrewshire’s Enhanced Register of Tenant Organisations. Tenant groups which meet the registration criteria have full access to the Council’s Tenant Participation Structures (including participation in the relevant Neighbourhood Housing Forum and Council Wide Forum) and are eligible for grant funding from the Housing Revenue Account. Representatives of Registered Tenant Organisations are consulted by Council officers on a range of housing-related issues affecting their members and they can contribute to and influence the development of housing policy and service delivery. As at the end of March 2022, there were 11 tenant organisations on the Enhanced Register of Tenant Organisations in Renfrewshire. There are 6 further groups on the Register of Tenant Organisations, but they do not currently meet the enhanced registration criteria. As a result of the restrictions that have been in place since March 2020, in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, it was not possible to carry out the normal annual registration process for 2020/21 because tenant groups had been unable to hold public meetings as detailed within the enhanced registration criteria. It was therefore agreed in following Tenant Participation Annual Board Reports that all groups included on the Enhanced Register of Tenant Organisations as at March 2020 continued to retain this status; this has been renewed for subsequent registration years: 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23. However, it is proposed that a registration process will be reintroduced for year 2023/24 with the requirement for tenant groups to submit an application form and provide supporting information. An undertaking has been given in the new Tenant Participation Strategy 2022-27 action plan to review the current registration criteria. A review will be carried out, including consultation with tenant group representatives and thereafter the findings and recommendations presented to a future Board meeting. Neighbourhood Housing Forums (NHFs) Projects Neighbourhood Housing Forums did not meet during the year 2021/22 because of restrictions in place at the time due to the pandemic. Officers from Communities, Housing and Planning Services liaised with other Council services about project proposals, progressing works within local communities. Examples of the type of work approved by the Forums include: front hedge removal and replacement with fencing; slabbing & mono-blocking; hard landscaping of backcourts; handrails at common paths; and exterior painting.
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Customer Scrutiny Because of restrictions (since March 2020), face to face meetings between Council officers and Tenant Representatives have predominately moved online where possible. We have used other means of communication, including telephone, email and Microsoft Teams to continue to consult with the Tenants Scrutiny Panel, Tenants and Residents Associations and High Rise & Sheltered Quality Circles. While members of these groups have not been able to for example conduct in person inspections, they have instead taken part in various online meetings, including: the Annual Return on the Charter and input to the design and presentation of the Tenants Charter Report. 4. Customer Engagement in 2021/22 Over the past year, Communities, Housing and Planning Services have engaged with tenants and wider customer groups on a range of service matters as detailed further within this report. 4.1 Communicating with tenants and customers The People’s News: The Council’s tenant newsletter, The People’s News, was delivered to all Council tenants in Renfrewshire. In the last year it has included articles on housing investment, the Council’s response to the pandemic and new build developments. The newsletter is available in a range of different formats in response to individual needs (such as large print and audio CD) and is available on request to other service users. Scottish Social Housing Charter Report to Tenants: following consultation with tenants, a special edition of The People’s News was published on the Annual Housing Charter Tenant Report. This highlighted how the Service had performed over the previous twelve months with comparisons between other landlords and against previous years’ performance. The Good Times: The Council publishes a quarterly newsletter which is distributed to all Council tenants living within sheltered housing complexes. Articles include relevant health advice, forthcoming outings, events and activities organised by our Health and Wellbeing team and good news stories from tenants across all complexes. The newsletter is a great source of positive stories, information and support for tenants who are unable to get out and about as much as they used to. Included in the newsletter is the most recent reports and any feedback from the Quality Circle group. Tenants are invited to give feedback on the content and design of the “Good Times” to ensure it continues to be fit for purpose.
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4.2 Customer insight As part of the Council’s commitment to meet the requirements of the Scottish Social Housing Charter and to continually monitor services, regular ‘point of service’ surveys are carried out: Repairs satisfaction: Tenants are contacted by telephone following the completion of a repair, to find out what they think of the service they have received. Satisfaction with the repairs services in 2021/22 was 95.0%. Standard of accommodation survey: At the start of a new tenancy, new tenants are asked to participate in a satisfaction survey to ascertain satisfaction levels with the quality of the home when they move in. From the surveys completed in 2021/22 – 83.8% were either ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ with the quality of their home when they moved in. Housing Options: The Council carries out satisfaction surveys with clients after their first housing options interview at Homeless Services to gauge the standard of the service they received and the quality of the advice they were given. In 2021/22, of 112 service users who were consulted, 96% stated that they were pleased with the quality of advice and information they were given. Temporary accommodation: Service users leaving temporary accommodation are asked to complete a satisfaction survey which asks if the service they received met their needs, as well as what they liked and did not like about the temporary accommodation. Of the 61 service users who completed ‘exit surveys’ during 2020/21, 98% said they were either ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ with the overall quality of the temporary accommodation provided. Owners survey: In 2020/21, over 230 owners took part in a survey about factoring services and 60.0% stated they were satisfied with the service provided. Homes for Keeps: Due to changes during the pandemic period, Homes for Keeps is now part of the wider Resettlement process to assist people (regardless of age) transition into their permanent tenancies. 4.3 Customer consultation and engagement During 2021/22 tenants were consulted on several matters: New Tenant Participation Strategy: The Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board in August 2021 agreed that a new Tenant Participation Strategy should be developed and that an external consultancy service should be commissioned to support tenants and help deliver the new strategy. In
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September 2021, the Tenants Information Service (TIS) was appointed after a short tender exercise involving the Tenants Scrutiny Panel. TIS has worked closely with tenants and Officers across the Housing Service to understand the current arrangements for tenant involvement, this included: desktop analysis of tenant participation, facilitating tenant focus groups and a joint tenant and staff liaison group. These discussions assisted in the development of the new Tenant Participation Strategy which was approved by this Board in October 2022. An action plan was developed, a copy of which is at the end of this paper, which will be used to prioritise the work of tenant participation which will be monitored quarterly by the Tenants Scrutiny Panel and updates will be included in future Tenant Participation Annual Reports to this Board. Annual report on the Charter: Tenant representatives were consulted on the performance indicators and the style and format of the Annual Tenant Report on the Charter in October 2021. Rent Increase Consultation: Renfrewshire Council has a statutory duty to consult tenants before increasing rents. To help inform the decision on rents for 2021/22, consultation was undertaken in December 2021 and January 2022 involving discussion with tenant representatives at the annual Council Wide Forum and a telephone survey of Council tenants. Over 600 telephone interviews with tenants were conducted by external consultants during January 21 (this represents 5% of Council tenants). Tenants most commonly supported the lowest 2% increase, with 48% of respondents selecting this option. This was followed by option 2 of 2.5% (31%) and then option 3 of 3% (14%). 7% of respondents did not select any of these increases. 4.4 Regeneration and Renewal Areas The first annual update was presented to the Communities and Housing Policy Board in August 2022 providing an update on our £100m housing-led regeneration and renewal programme. Over the next 10 years, further reports will be provided to the Communities and Housing Policy Board advising of progress on the investment in the first 8 areas in phase 1 of the Regeneration and Renewal programme. Recent pop-up events were held in each of the regeneration areas to inform tenants, residents and private owners of the timeline of works proposed for their areas. The feedback received provides an insight into how people are feeling about their local area in general, including the external environment, quality of the local neighbourhood and wider issues which they feel is affecting quality of life and the wellbeing of local residents. Paisley West End: Officers continue to work with the Council’s RSL partner Sanctuary Scotland and the Scottish Government on the delivery of the
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regeneration masterplan for Paisley West End. The approved Masterplan is being refreshed by Sanctuary and their appointed architects Anderson Bell + Christie and as the details of the revised Masterplan evolve residents and owners in the wider West End area will continue to be kept informed. Tannahill Area Regeneration: The Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board approved a housing investment strategy for the Tannahill area of Ferguslie Park on 30 October 2018. This strategy included a newbuild housing development of 101 newbuild homes to replace existing Council housing in the area. The first handovers are programmed to take place in early 2023. The Tannahill Liaison group have continued to engage with officers with meetings held locally within the Tannahill Centre. Officers continue to engage with the tenants and residents through newsletters, regular telephone calls and emails. A dedicated Tannahill mailbox for any electronic enquiries is also in place. 4.5 Engaging with our wider customer groups during 2021/22 A key outcome for the Customer Engagement Strategy is to ensure there is active engagement with various customer groups across the range of housing services and that opportunities exist for customers to be involved in monitoring performance and helping shape service delivery.
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Sheltered Housing and Amenity Housing Digital Update Smart TVs have been purchased from the Forever Young budget and all complexes now have a TV capable of getting online and playing digital content. Over the course of the year we will introduce new ways to incorporate these into activities, which will make the service more resilient when weather is poor or individuals would struggle to travel further. Digital support for the Scottish Census was offered to all our sheltered housing complexes, with a small number of tenants taking this offer up in lieu of the paper form. These were completed successfully and all tenants who accessed this service were satisfied. In addition to the 46 tablets given out last year, a further 4 tablets were provided, and all tenants on our device waiting list now have access to a device. Digital classes have been provided in the majority of our complexes to assist those with new tablets where the most need was determined. This is a set of 9 classes which focus on everything from device basics to online banking and internet safety. All complexes will have had digital support provided by the end of 2022 and this is ongoing, with tenants able to contact for support as and when required. Pop Up Sharing Kitchen We have recognised that loneliness is a significant risk factor of malnutrition. Socially isolated older people often experience reduced appetite, eat fewer meals in a day and have a lower intake of protein, fruits, and vegetables in their diet. The concept of our pop-up kitchen is very simple we demonstrate quick wholesome meals on a budget in front of the tenants, they then get to eat the produce and have a blether. As part of our you said we did questionnaire responses, tenants asked to have more bus trips – so over the summer we have had many trips open to tenants across all complexes to places of interest including the Kelpies, Falkirk Wheel, Millport, Inverary, Callander. We also are looking forward to the festive activities on offer to tenants for 2022. This includes a trip to the Chocolate Factory “Limetree Larder”, Aladdin at the Pavilion, Cinderella at the Town Hall Johnstone, Festive Fun at Muirshiel Country Park plus many individual trips to see the Christmas lights. Part Time Maintenance Officer We have successfully been awarded a Traineeship for a former volunteer to help the Sheltered Housing Service keep our gardens in shape as well as doing indoor maintenance helping out tenants with their day-to-day DIY.
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4.6 Housing Support Team Housing Support Services - homelessness and communities There are now four Senior Housing Support Officers across the team, who will continue to develop and improve the liaison with external providers and partners supporting those who receive enhanced wraparound support via initiatives such as Housing First and WRAP and produce regular analysis and checks that service users’ outcomes are being met. An exciting new project called Myla has been established in partnership with Turning Point (Scotland) to deliver a service to people who are experiencing problematic alcohol and drug use, are in recovery or at risk of relapse and in need of assertive outreach. A new Private Rented Sector initiative including a Housing Support Officer is working with housing options and environmental services officers to provide Private rented sector tenants with the advice and assistance that they need. These projects continue to develop and evolve to take account of the needs of our service users and work alongside our partners. The Housing Support Service publishes a newsletter which is distributed to all Council tenants and other service users who receive Housing Support. Articles have included updated and relevant housing and money advice, good news stories from across the service and commissioned services, staff updates and relevant health information to promote healthy lifestyles and wellbeing. Senior managers undertake monthly quality assurance audits to ensure consistency across service provision. Housing Support Plan Review questionnaires are used to give individuals the chance to tell the Council what they think about services, the feedback from which helps improve services to clients. “Make it Your Own”, continues to be delivered in partnership with Impact Arts. This involves supporting people to learn new DIY, interior design, textiles and visual art skills. Every project is tailored to every individual’s needs and tastes to ensure they get the most from their time on the programme. Donations of clothes and furniture from the local community continue distributed free-of-charge to those in need. Sainsbury’s Dargavel continues to donate food weekly to residents in our staffed homeless accommodation. Refugee and Resettlement team This team is now made up of 2 Coordinators, 2 senior housing support officers and 10 housing support officers spread across Christie Street and the Welcome Hub to respond to the resettlement of refugees into temporary and settled accommodation in Renfrewshire and work with the Scottish government and local authorities across Scotland. The team will be assessing the housing, welfare, education, social care and resettlement needs of refugees. The team are using Better Futures outcomes for the first time and will be registered with Care inspectorate to evidence the work they are doing that meet quality assurance framework and reflect health and social care standards. A range of local partnerships are being developed with local
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housing providers, employability, charitable organisations, HSCP and local communities to ensure we integrate refugees and asylum seekers into local communities. Private Sector Officers from the Owners Services team provide support to private owners, landlords and tenants in the private rented sector. The Council engaged with over 587 owners during the year to consult on and organise repairs in common blocks. 4.7 Supporting Engagement Attendance at National Tenant Events – due to government guidance on the pandemic, conferences which delegates have attended in previous years were cancelled. However, if these events are arranged in future, we will support tenant representatives to attend where possible. Resources - To support and develop tenant participation activities, funding is provided from the Housing Revenue Account. Staffing – Two development officers within the Planning and Housing Team are available to support Customer Engagement. One of these development officers is a key contact dedicated to Tenant Participation. Two Service Improvement Officers are also available to assist where required. Financial support to assist Registered Tenant Organisations with running costs, annual grants of up to £600 can be applied for, along with one-off grants for equipment such as printers or computers (up to £500). Training events and conferences - Opportunities are made available for tenant representatives to attend seminars, training events and national tenant conferences. Representatives are asked to provide feedback from these events to allow the Development Officer to cascade any relevant information onto other tenant groups to ensure they also benefit from this training/information. Access to independent advice – The Council is a member of both the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) and Tenant Information Service (TIS). Advice and assistance can be accessed from these organisations as required. Other forms of support including venue hire, catering and publicity for consultation events; the cost of transport for delegates to and from consultation meetings, conferences and seminars.
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Renfrewshire Tenant Participation Action Plan – August 2022 to March 2024 Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale To ensure tenants and residents are well informed o We will provide good quality information that meets the needs of tenants and service users o All information will be easy to read and in Plain English o We will provide information in a range of formats to suit your needs (for example, large print, audio CD and in community languages) if requested o A range of communication methods (online and offline) will be provided o We will find out from tenants what types of information they are interested in receiving o We will ensure there are opportunities to speak to staff if you need support to complete a survey or form o We will provide a range of ways for you to give your feedback o We will always ensure that enough time is provided to give your views o We will listen to tenant feedback before decisions o We guarantee that the results of consultations will be reported and kept under review o We will share good practice and publicise the benefits of tenant participation. In consultation with tenants and service managers, produce at least two issues of the People’s News each year. In consultation with tenants, publish Renfrewshire Council’s Tenants’ Report on the Charter. All information will be published in a range of formats and platforms to widen access to information. Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review June 2023
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Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale We will develop our digital participation opportunities and embed digital engagement across Renfrewshire o We will build on utilising digital technologies to complement our traditional strengths, improve business performance, and support the delivery of services more efficiently and with more choice o We will align with the digital strategy to develop tenant participation that sits alongside the new Tenant Participation Strategy o We will look at strategies to deliver and ensure digital inclusion o We will expand the use of digital applications to maximise tenant engagement o We will continue to improve our interactive online communications with tenants, residents, and groups through better use of social media, email, text messaging and smart phone apps o We will ensure that Tenant Participation is adequately resourced o We will enable tenants and residents to become digitally confident. We will make use of suitable digital platforms to increase and improve participation, such as Near Me, Microsoft Teams and Consul. Support will be provided to tenants and residents to gain access to digital resources and information. Training will be available to support digital participation through the use of existing resources and Council partners where possible. Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer (Digital Participation Officer) Review December 2023
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Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale To listen to tenants and consider their views before decisions are reached and promote real opportunities to participate and influence housing services o We will provide a range of ways to gather the views of tenants and residents o We will aim to increase the number of tenants and residents that we engage with o We will listen to tenant feedback before decisions about housing services are reached o New methods of engagement with groups who often do not get involved, such as young people, will be developed o We guarantee that the results of consultations will be reported and kept under review o We will develop a Renfrewshire “Tenant Approved” stamp for publications to tenants. o We will provide a range of ways to encourage tenants and residents to participate fully Commission and report on Tenant Satisfaction Survey results, taking account of comments to improve services Continue to undertake Rent Consultation Surveys prior to any proposed rent increases Continue to carry out tenant satisfaction surveys for key services areas and undertake service improvements where identified from feedback, for example: Standard of temporary Accommodation Repairs Satisfaction Quality of home satisfaction Owners’ survey New build satisfaction We will make use of digital platforms to maximise how we gather tenants’ views, e.g., Survey 123. Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review June 2023
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Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale Increasing Tenant Participation opportunities o We will identify the gaps in the groups or communities who currently do not participate and prepare a strategy to address these gaps. o We will focus support work to increase the number of young people who get involved in housing Publicise the benefits of tenant participation in Peoples News. We will develop and maintain a bank of interested tenants for feedback on service matters. We will work with tenants and other stakeholders to develop methods to involve usually ‘excluded’ groups. Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review December 2023 Local Tenants and Residents Associations (TARAs) o We will conduct annual ‘health check’ of TARAs across Renfrewshire to identify their training and support needs o We will support a recruitment campaign for TARAs. o We will make use of digital platforms to increase and improve communication between groups. o We will provide opportunities for groups to come together to share views and ideas. o We will gather and share good practice case studies to highlight the impact of tenant participation. o We will replace the Enhanced Registration Scheme with one registration scheme that fulfils legislative requirements and encourages group “sign up.” o We will provide Officer support to seek and apply for funding. A ‘health check’ will be devised to help TARAs. We will continue to provide ongoing support for TARAs. We will work with tenants and stakeholders to simplify the Enhanced Registration Scheme. Use and promote digital platforms, when possible, to improve communications. Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review December 2023
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Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale Council wide Tenants’ Forum and the role of the local Neighbourhood Forums o We will merge the work of the Council Wide Forum with the Neighbourhood Forums o We will review the role and remit of the Forums regarding the number, format, and agenda for meetings to make this format more effective. o We will review how the Forum links with the work of other tenants’ groups. o We will ensure tenants are involved in the agenda setting process. o We will support the Forum to develop Terms of Reference for the Forum so that all stakeholders have a clear understanding of its role and remit, accountability, links with other groups and reporting arrangements. o We will work with tenants to review the role of the forums and agree Terms of Reference which clarifies their role, remit, links with other groups and reporting arrangements. o We will look to introduce a participatory budgeting approach for the Neighbourhood Forums. We will look to establish two Council Wide Forums per year, one of which will be devoted to Neighbourhood Forum business. We will make use of digital platforms to host the CWF for blended meetings. Review the Neighbourhood Forum process and how it can work with the Council Wide Forum. Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review December 2023 Tenant Scrutiny Panel o The Panel will develop an Annual Workplan of its work areas to support it to forward plan. o We will work with tenant representatives to produce a scrutiny framework that details the Promote and develop the Tenant Scrutiny Panel, by: Promoting benefits of scrutiny Attracting new members Delivering training Supporting Scrutiny Panel Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review December 2023
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Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale roles and relationships of all stakeholders involved in scrutiny. o We will provide training for tenants, staff, and Elected Members on the role of tenant scrutiny where required. o We will support more opportunities to do onsite inspections as part of its scrutiny work. o We will arrange training to be provided to the Panel on the role of the Assurance Statement so they can participate fully. o We will arrange meetings with the Panel to discuss the draft Annual Assurance Statement to seek tenant feedback on this. and the Quality Circles,(?) o We will establish a new Quality Circle focusing on estate management issues. Promote and develop Quality Circles in other service areas by: Establish a new quality circle for estate management. Deliver training Support existing Quality Circles Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review December 2023 Participation in regeneration areas o We will use this strategy as a cornerstone to develop more tenant involvement in regeneration. o We will have a tenant training and support programme in place. We will continue to support the Neighbourhood renewal Groups Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer/Housing Regeneration Manager Review June 2023
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Priority Actions How will we do this Lead Timescale To provide resources and support to empower tenants and residents to influence decisions about housing services o We will provide a Tenant Participation budget specifically for tenant participation and tenant scrutiny o We will review the grant scheme required for TARAs. o This budget will be reviewed each year by tenant representatives and the Council to ensure it is “fit for purpose” o We will fund and support all tenant and scrutiny groups to participate fully o We will provide training to ensure tenants and residents have the skills, knowledge, and confidence to participate o We will ensure that tenant participation is a key part of all staff’s role, and that staff are trained and supported to ensure that tenant participation is a key part of our values o We recognise the role of volunteers in supporting the development of Tenant Participation o Tenants will have access to independent support and training opportunities if required Continue to support existing Tenants’ & Residents’ Associations and assist in establishing new Tenants’ & Residents’ Associations where there are none and there is a demand for such representation Continue to support RTOs: ‐ Offer advice and assist to associations with the annual RTO registration procedure ‐ Visit each enhanced registered association to offer support, advice and assistance Offer grant funding to enhanced RTOs (start-up, annual & one-off) Continue to encourage groups to participate in external / national events We will work with tenants to review tenant participation budget matters Housing Services Improvement Officer/ Development Officer Review June 2023