Agenda item

This report provides an update on how we are working with council housing residents from street properties, small blocks, estates, and sheltered housing to improve the services that they receive.

Janey Carey, Head of Resident Involvement & Improvement, provided an update on how the Council was working with council housing residents from street properties, small blocks, estates, and sheltered housing to improve the services they receive. The presentation provided an overview of the key involvement initiatives, including the main achievements to date and areas of future focus.

The Resident Involvement Strategy was developed with residents and aimed to:

1)    Place greater control and influence at the hands of our residents, making us more accountable for the housing services they receive.

2)    Deliver ‘More Involvement, Better Involvement’ by working with residents to identify and break down barriers to engagement.

3)    Promote social inclusion and support thriving and vibrant communities.

Officers explained the Resident Involvement Team worked with over 400 residents in three main ways which were:

1)    Through resident-led service improvement groups that focused on improving a specific area of the Housing Service by reviewing the performance, processes, and customer service, and working together to agree suitable improvements.

2)    Through informal involvement such as task-and-finish groups on a certain subject, estate inspections, mystery shopping, focus groups, surveys, newsletters, community events, a Reading Group, and involving residents in officer recruitment.

3)    By working with over 30 Tenants & Residents Associations (TRAs) to support and develop community projects and address local delivery needs.

Details were provided on the role and responsibilities of the three resident-led service improvement groups which were: the Repairs Working Group, Estate Services Working Group and Investment Group. In addition, it was noted that the Council had recently established a Fire Safety Plus Advisory Group and was in the process of developing Communications and Inclusion workshops.

Janey Carey explained how resident satisfaction was measured, the actions taken to support communities and how the Council assisted residents to use community halls, rooms and hub offices to their best advantage.

Concluding her remarks, Janey Carey explained that officers would be reviewing the existing strategy, engagement structure and current vision in line with the administration’s 2018 manifesto to “work out with residents to find the best way forward rather than just doing things to them”.It was noted that this work would inform the new strategy for 2018-22 which would be based on the following aims:

1)    Improving the Housing Service by continuing to work with residents.

2)    Identifying untapped involvement opportunities at an estate and borough-wide level

3)    Identifying new ways to work with residents from street properties, small blocks, and gap sites to specifically address their needs.

4)    Gaining increased insight from resident’s views and opinions.

5)    Improving digital involvement and engagement opportunities and how to reach those typically less-engaged.

Councillor Homan thanked officers for the presentation and expressed disappointment at how few residents and tenants were present compared to previous PAC meetings. She highlighted that residents in street properties and small blocks were a cause for concern and there was scope to improve engagement with these groups. Officers confirmed that invitations had been circulated in the usual way by emailing all Tenants & Residents Association contacts and involved residents as part of the Get Involved mailing list. The unusually hot weather may have contributed to a decline in attendance figures. Commenting on the work so far, Councillor Homan said that officers had done a fantastic job and significant progress had been made to improve resident involvement since the inception of the strategy.

The Chair asked about the success of resident engagement and whether a set pool of residents simply attended many of the groups on a regular basis. Janey Carey said that the Council was in the process of setting up a database so that the it could establish which residents wanted to actively participate in specific start and finish groups.

Councillor Rowan Ree asked whether data gathering agencies such as IPSOS or Mori were used by the Council. In response, Janey Carey confirmed that Housing had considered this option but officers were now working closely with Peter Smith’s Policy Team to improve digital inclusion. Councillor Rowan Ree commented there was a danger that officers might focus solely on Council tenants rather than the community as a whole, and where possible officers should look at other funding opportunities to enhance digital inclusion. Councillor Rowan Ree stated that it was also important to try and increase the breadth and scope of resident feedback, as well as to encourage better involvement from residents.

Janey Carey explained that officers were aware how important it was to try and access as wider pool of residents as possible and when officers had worked on estates they had used this to piggy back other forms of work such as investigating how stock transfers were working. Daniel Miller, Resident Involvement & Service Improvement Manager, confirmed that the Council was looking to establish a borough wide forum called the Residents Voice for council housing residents, using a workshop style. Work had also been conducted with the Nextdoor website as a digital platform which had proved quite successful.

Councillor Homan mentioned the Love Where You Live initiative and said this was a good approach to use in the future. Councillor Rowan Ree asked what the most surprising insight had been from the work conducted so far. In response, Janey Carey confirmed that residents were generally happy although repairs issues were raised from time to time.

Councillor Ann Rosenberg asked about disputes between residents and what solutions could be found. In response, Daniel Miller confirmed that in some cases, committees comprising of residents working together on projects could lead to differences of opinion and for disputes to arise. In which case, officers would try and resolve the dispute, but where this was proving difficult, the Council might use an organisation such as CALM to mediate.

Councillor Adronie Alford highlighted the positive work which had been conducted by the Leaseholder Forum and Resident Involvement Panel but expressed concern about gap sites and small estates where it was difficult to engage with residents. Councillor Homan agreed that such sites were a challenge and welcomed any suggestions to improve matters. Daniel Miller confirmed that the Resident Involvement Team were aware of both types of site and these would form part of new engagement activity moving forwards, as well as being integrated into the new Resident Involvement Strategy.

Councillor Zarar Qayyum asked about the Repairs Working Group and how the Council measured performance in a timely manner. Janey Carey explained that the Council had a Key Performance Indicator dashboard which recorded a number of indices which could be shared with residents. In addition, it was noted that the Repairs Working Group focused on specific issues to investigate how improvements could be made to procedures and processes and officers would then contact contractors to implement any suggested improvements.

Councillor Zarar Qayyum asked about the role of the Investment Group and what it did. In response, Janey Carey confirmed that it worked with council officers and Groundwork to consider what improvements could be made to an estate and how then reviews and agrees resident bids for improvement projects.

Councillor Homan asked those residents present to ask any questions they had on the presentation which had been provided. In response a resident queried how the meeting had been advertised as they had not been contacted in the usual way. Officers advised the resident to liaise with the customer engagement team and committee services to ensure the council held their specific contact details.

The Chair asked a series of questions about outcomes: how the outcomes of forums were publicised, how the Council showed what it had achieved and how  it determined how well the current strategy was working? Janey Carey said that mystery shopping generated reports and ongoing improvements made to the usability of websites meant that progress was tangible. Daniel Miller confirmed that officers had developed a resident evaluation feedback form with residents which would be rolled out soon.

In relation to TRAs and Tenant Halls, the Chair asked about the relationships required for these to function for use by the local community. Janey Carey explained that Community Engagement Officers were responsible for working with TRAs and officers were building levels of support within communities to ensure Tenant Halls opened regularly and are operated as intended. The Chair said that running tenant halls placed quite a burden on the local community, especially having the responsibility to open and close them at the appropriate times. It was highlighted that Tenant Halls were key community assets and it was essential to ensure there was close working between all parties so these functioned effectively.

Councillor Zarar Qayyum about local businesses, the arts and scope within the strategy to improve these links. In response, officers confirmed that they were looking at how these operated as well as the important role which could be taken by third sector organisations. Councillor Homan highlighted she was aware that residents from non-Council communities had requested assistance in running their own residents’ associations and officers had suggested that a neighbourhood panel format might be an appropriate means of bringing residents together.

The Chair thanked officers and residents for their work, and all present for their contribution to an interesting debate.