Empowering Residents Tenant Involvement and the Green Paper Martyn - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Empowering Residents Tenant Involvement and the Green Paper

Martyn Lund, ARCH Tenants’ Group Leona Mantle, Tenancy Services Manager

• The Green Paper on Empowerment
• How does KBC engage with tenants?
• What will need to change in the light of the green paper?

Empowerment and the Green Paper

• Empowering Residents and Strengthening the Regulator
• ‘making sure their voices are heard. This will drive better

services and ensure residents have more choice and control’

Brokenshire

The Proposals

• 1. Transparency on key performance indicators
• Presented in a clear, regular and consistent format and should cover issues

such as:

• keeping properties in good repair;
• maintaining the safety of buildings;
• handling of complaints;
• engagement with residents; and,
• neighbourhood management, including anti-social behaviour.
• This data would be provided by landlords to the Regulator of Social

Housing who would then publish league tables of landlord performance.

The Proposals

• 2. Rewarding Good Performance
• Linking league tables with financial incentives

The Proposals

• 3. Ensuring residents’ voices are heard
• Genuine engagement
• Use feedback to shape services
• Local and national voice

The Proposals

• 4. Choice
• the Government also wants to offer residents an opportunity

to exercise more choice over their day-today services

• Stock Transfer
• Trailblazer Projects – to test new structures

Engagement in Kettering

Tenants Forum Tenants Overview and Scrutiny Panel Environmental Improvement Panel Tenant Representatives Estate Inspections

Engagement in Kettering

Tenant Inspectors Editorial Panel of Newsletter Involvement in Procurement of goods and services Contract monitoring Focus Groups, Working Groups and Meet & Greet

Involvement and Impact at Kettering

• Introducing the Tenants Overview and

Scrutiny Panel

• 2 scrutiny examples to share

– The set-up of the Panel – A bit about the process of the scrutiny – A summary of the recommendations and impact

Tenants Overview and Scrutiny Panel

• Established in 2012
• Members recruited
• Work with Code of Conduct and Terms of Reference
• Tenant led
• Lead officer: Tenancy Services Manager
• Monthly overview and monitoring meetings
• Scrutiny

The set-up

Tenants Overview and Scrutiny Panel

• Officers invited to present performance

information

• and are asked to clarify / respond to queries
• Receive updates on related topics

Monthly

• verview

meetings

• Carry out one scrutiny at a time
• but will also be monitoring closely action plans

from previous scrutiny projects.

Scrutiny

Summary of how we work

Scrutiny Topic The Decision

• Overview
• Tenants Forum
• Officers
• Reactive

Scrutiny Topic Agreed by Tenants Forum Chair of TOSP assigns roles and agrees workplan The Scrutiny… Research Interview Data Action Plan Monitor Assess Impact

The Scrutiny Process

Recommendations agreed by Tenants Forum The Scrutiny Process

The Introductory Tenancy Scrutiny Process – what we did…

Desktop Review Information Review Interviewed Officers Interviewed Introductory Tenants Shadowing Mystery Shop Benchmark

The Introductory Tenancy Scrutiny Recommendations

• 1. Sign-ups for new tenants to be carried out in a more private area
• 2. More Neighbourhood Manager Involvement pre-tenancy
• 3. Applicants to have access to tenancy information before sign-up and opportunity to ask questions
• 4. Improve joint working of officers managing Introductory Tenancies
• 5. More effective monitoring systems to be in place
• 6. Information on tenant involvement to be included in tenants handbook

Our latest scrutiny…

• The Tenants Forum approved the scrutiny of Tenant

Involvement and Communications, the main reasons being:

• It is of fundamental importance that tenants have their say and that our

views are heard.

• It is important that tenants are effectively and clearly communicated with

by their landlord.

• Many areas of the Borough are currently under-represented.
• In the latest Survey of Tenants and Residents, only 69% of respondents

felt that the Council listens to tenants and acts upon their views.

The Process

Interviews

• Neighbourhood

Managers

• Tenant Engagement

Officer

• Customer Contact

Manager

• Senior Housing Team
• Customer Service

Officers

• Receptionist

Desktop Analysis

• All information

currently provided to tenants requesting information on getting involved.

• Tenants handbook
• Periodic Tenancy Visit

booklet Research

• Review of Connect
• Plasma Screen

Content in Customer Service Centre

• Website Review
• Mystery Shopping
• Focus Group
• Good practice

research

• Benchmarking
• Survey of 165 tenants

Findings and Conclusions

Frontline staff unaware of opportunities for tenant participation No easily accessible literature providing information on involvement Information difficult to find on the website Tenants did not know about the opportunities to participate Tenants felt that communication from the Council could be improved Some tenants felt they are not listened to

Agreed Outcomes

To give basic training to all frontline staff regarding the variety of ways tenants can get involved To improve the information regarding tenant participation To make participation more attractive To improve communication to tenants from participating tenants

Responding to the Green Paper

• Consultation exercise with our tenants Forum

– Critical for us all to respond to the proposals

• Prepare for Transparency in Performance Reporting

Annual Report/ TOSP reporting – league tables Enabling understanding

• Continue with Improvements to Engagement Offer

Martyn Lund ARCH Tenants Group, Chair of TOSP Leona Mantle Tenancy Services Manager