Thanks to Magenta for hosting the meeting.
1 Plans for the Rent reduction.
We had a Chatham House Rules chat about how different landlords are tackling the 1% rent reduction, (14% -17% over 4 years) including:
- Changes to customer involvement teams and services
- Reviewing services
- HCA requirements on co-regulation and consultation
- What support can customer involvement staff and customers offer their landlord
Most landlords (who have already agreed their approach) are approaching this through voluntary redundancy first, many have not yet publicised their approach.
All are expecting some cuts to CI in the region of 5-25%. Discussions took place about some landlords who have closed the CI service and included some of it in governance and neighbourhood roles.
I have more notes on this, if anyone wishes to contact me – but Chatham House rules prevent me from sharing them yet.
Important CI roles in terms of support which remain include:
- supporting consultation on changes to services and deletion of some services
- supporting tenants to complete the work to review consumer regulations are being delivered
- strong chairs and panels who are knowledgeable about the cuts and government policy
- supporting tenants into employment
- meeting regulatory requirements on CI – scrutiny, complaints, policy and performance as well as review of local standards/promises
- more than ever, it is essential that CI is business driven and that remaining staff have the ability to make the changes if there are reduced projects being completed
- the need for what CI does to be more visible
- the importance of measuring value and calculating savings from waste removed following tenant insight
- more work on customer insight, following up results of satisfaction and feedback
- policy work from finding out what the problem is – mini scrutiny pre development of the policy
- customer insight through neighbourhood staff
- focus on dissatisfaction, VFM and waste
- selling points – for merger of your own involvement strategy
- Thinking about what the CI staff can do, if they gain time during the week to support other initiatives
- customers supporting staff to review services
- presentations to customer groups about the need for change due to the rent cut
- showing what you do to others – CI misunderstood
- Reminding tenants to use their vote at elections!!
Consumer regulation – change – what needs to be consulted on?
Since the change the regulator’s remit in 2012, the regulator does not have any scope to be involved in these issues.
The only consultation issue which the regulator would step in over, is any change of landlord through the consents regime.
The provider wis free to decide what to consult on.
The relevant bit of the standard are:
“Registered providers shall consult with tenants, setting out clearly the costs and benefits of relevant options, if they are proposing to change their landlord or when proposing a significant change in their management arrangements.
And
“Registered providers shall consult tenants at least once every three years on the best way of involving tenants in the governance and scrutiny of the organisation’s housing management service.”
In speaking to a regulator recently, the advice was that it would be odd for any provider not to consult on the closure of offices etc, but this isn’t something the regulator would get involved in. The test for any regulator involvement on consumer regulation is serious detriment, which really boils down to life or death stuff like gas servicing.
Usually a tenant, who writes to the regulator about this, would have a follow up call from the HCA to the CEO – which is usually sufficient to remind them of better ways to do this and to change their ways.
Hope that’s helps – again, just give me a call if you need more
- Scrutiny Techniques are changing.
Going around the room, we discussed the different approaches to scrutiny and recent experiments with scrutiny panels, in particular:
- Different methods are we all using to scrutinise?
- Role of officers for mature panels
- Methods led by tenants and independence
Great Places
- Officers have supported tenants with phone calls for intelligence on services. Spent 2 weeks on phones, making market research calls about their service scrutiny – making sure the questions are right, looking at gaps in services and satisfaction
- use of working people to support the panel who are tenants – planned as part of scrutiny and works well
- Use of storytelling skills to emphasise feedback and comments
Southway
- more instant mystery shopping, linked to customer and staff needs on the services
- customer education DVD produced in refining service standards (no longer going to complete rechargeable repairs as money hard to chase)
Aster Communities
- Supporting the internal auditor in their work so a perspective of the customer is included in audits
Adactus
- Vote on topics from tenants and Board – very transparent
- Internal team investigates and produced a report
- SP review the work
Magenta
- tenant to tenant consultation and door knocking
- supporting recruitment of new members
Steve Biko HA
- customer looking for a one stop shop from a small HA
- customers listening into calls
Incommunities
- Customers looking at demand for services first – lean thinking approach
- 3 standard questions to ask everyone
- more involvement in report writing – now write their own report
New Charter
- used a co-optee for their service scrutiny on landscaping – local people may volunteer to support some scrutiny subjects FOC
PlusDane
- supporting staff on staff surveys for their own scrutiny an analysing the results with staff
- review of PD contract with Cheshire Council once every 3 months, including performance of PD
- PD voices being developed as armchair auditors – with a promise of contact every qtr.
- Consumer Regulation Review 2015.
Yvonne gave a presentation on the results to date on consumer regulation.
Consumer Regulation S Net 2015
6 points of serious detriment found leading to a downgrade from 589 cases reported and 238 of which were investigated by the Consumer regulation Panel (CRP) at the HCA.
This can give a role to designated complaints panels and goes with the points above about CI managing customer challenge on the HCAs Consumer Regulations.
- Consultative Panels – do you have one – what do you do to keep them going?
Magenta, Southway and Great Places all have a panel.
Purpose is one of:
- customer facing policy review; consultation; performance; updates on current issues and dialogue; any front facing changes in the business which might impact on tenants; Welfare reform updates; survey results on satisfaction; future improvement plans progress on ideas etc.
- Representation is individual, though some are formed from TARA representation in neighbourhoods.
- Reports on progress in CI – but not oversight of this
Might get engaged in walkabouts
New staff visit the panel in Southway within the first 6 months
Issues include:
- the maturity of tenants
- the demographic
- expectation to get involved in decisions – but Board and officer make these – the Panel are influencers but do include others to alter plans.
- Neighbourhood Panels and budgets – how do they work for you and what is working and what are you changing?
Discussions centred on:
- estate walkabouts -prevalent, as were TARAs
- some HAs had neighbourhood panels, but these were generally serviced in the neighbourhood with local staff – mixed views on this – some work well, most staff do not have the time to engage tenants if they are not CI staff – so its piecemeal
- Some had a funding panel for participatory budgets – up to £150 for community events at Great Places – mobile disco for the community fund day etc
- Southway fun and feedback events work well – intend to use these more for recruiting for CI Panels, feedback as great and different attendance than the formal panels
- Southway CI strategy thinking about more local TARA ad Community group consultation
Issues:
- people coming to report own issues – important that no response is given but pointed to landlord to respond
- taking the time to feedback on issues raised to close the loop
New issue identified for next meeting – TARAs – where next:
- landlord run or tenants run
- what rules/recognition
- what happens if things go wrong and complaints come in
- Leadership training and Chair support
This was impractical to run course due to geographical distance of those that wished to attend regularly.
Agreed it was still necessary, especially given the agenda of cuts, but might be harder to fund in 2016.
It will be better run once and identify gaps to fill in a further course but not monthly
- AOB
Incentivising involvement.
- Southway incentivise involvement in their tenants reward scheme– 5+ activities = shopping voucher and those with a clear rent account also have Tablet prize draw periodically
- Wrekin – 100 customers involved through a points system
- Many want to be treated to a meal post scrutiny and xmas and the York conference only
- End of year funding for TARA groups at Magenta
Community Call for action
- YD aware that Wulvern and Salix have a policy – also LMH we think?
Measuring involvement
- survey drafted
- how to run focus groups to be discussed at RING tomoz – to happen in Oct/Nov
- call for invovement from HACT on their resident satisfaction project and their bottom line on community investment project – costs to HAs approx £7k a year
Date and Time of next meeting
Wednesday – 27th January 2016 – Habinteg’s new office – Bradford (10.30-2.30)