Leeds City Council

To cover… About us Our ‘involvement’ journey Our current approach Sharing some challenges

About Housing Leeds 55,500 homes 80,000 tenants and their families 116 high rise flats, 127 sheltered schemes – with different management models Growing proportion of under 30s and over 85s Diverse people, places and property types over 213 square miles. Network of traditional estate housing offices – moving to wider Council ‘Community Hubs 120+ Housing Officer roles 40+ active Tenants Associations Engagement Team – Central support staff, team leaders/manager roles – then locality focus – 12 roles for 12 localities

Background 2013 – 3 ALMOs into a single council housing service Harmonisation- Development of Strategic Tenant Body and new involvement framework…how do we keep everybody happy?

No sunshine after the rain… Complexity- governance, formality and communication Officer time and resources v outcomes? What about the views of the other 79,500 other tenants? What about community development?

‘Round 2… trying to streamline’ 1 Year on evaluation and wider research. Reputation and Credibility - The risk of listening and acting on the views of a few. Relevancy - Offering something people want to be part of. Value / VFM - Can we evidence outcomes and benefit to wider Housing Leeds/LCC? Culture - Whole organisation commitment to listening and responding to feedback of all kinds. 1 year-on consultation with groups told us: Mixed success of existing groups Overly formal Some groups can’t evidence outcomes Questions about representation on groups Desire for more local working and connections between groups Desire to seek and act on feedback from wider community.

Now… A broader and more informal framework recognising: Tenant Engagement Tenant Involvement Community Develop- ment

Wasn’t a painless journey… “But that’s the way we’ve always done it” Repeating the same key message over and over Some compromises had to be made 6 month consultation but….we did it TOGETHER

How’s tenant involvement working? Service improvement focus / forward looking Using all available info Co-design principle Unrepresentative by nature (but ok, as act on and interpret feedback from many) Repairs Service Improvement Group High Rise Strategy Implementation Group TARA Panel Voice of Older Leeds Tenants Housing Advisory Panels (£450k) VITAL (more flexible)

How’s tenant engagement working? Tenants can directly connect to us in a way that suits them. Informal and responsive interaction Localised or targeted Accessible by the many Social Media push Surveys / emailing Network of TARAs ‘everyone’s’ role – Annual Home Visits 100s coffee mornings, keep fit, lunch clubs… Better local web info Hubs, pop-ups, galas, drop ins, surgeries

How’s community development going? Working with communities, community groups and partners to identify and deliver programmes or projects which help build the skills and resilience of communities Award winning parenting programme Premier League Kicks Wifi – Digital Inclusion work HAP community grants Funding Leeds #Communities Can

Current Challenges? Showing our worth (our impact to wider Housing and Council priorities) Maximising external funding and relationships with third sector Focus on priority neighbourhoods – significant changes in wider LCC A more community approach (ABCD) – and letting the community tell the story The role of technology The right people

Any Questions ian.montgomery@leeds.gov.uk sarah.lockwood@leeds.gov.uk www.leeds.gov.uk/councilhousing www.facebook.com/HousingLeeds www.twitter.com/HousingLeeds