C4 Celebrating Scrutiny Success Andrew Smith Executive Director GreenSquare Group

Content The GreenSquare model Achievements Lessons Learned Questions

Our Governance Structure GreenSquare 3 Communities Boards –Avon –Isis –Marden Resident Scrutiny Panel GreenSquare Avon Communities Board Isis Communities Board Marden Communities Board Resident Scrutiny Panel Oxbode joined from 5 November

Geography Avon Communities Board (Chippenham, Melksham, Trowbridge, Corsham, and Bradford on Avon) Isis Communities Board (covering the whole of Oxfordshire) Marden Communities Board (Swindon, Wootton Bassett, Calne, Malmesbury, Cricklade, Purton, and villages. Oxbode Gloucestershire

Why did we do it?  Long history of resident involvement  Resident Business Planning  Formation of the Group  Real desire to put residents at the heart of what we do

How did we do it?  Steering Group  Chartered Institute of Housing  Consultants and publications  GreenSquare Board

Useful Reading…  CIH December 2007 – Leading the way: Achieving resident-driven accountability and excellence  March 2010 – CIH Enhancing In- house Scrutiny and Performance  Board Development Agency, Resident Scrutiny Toolkit  Tenant Scrutiny: now and in the future, 2011.

Developing a brief  Terms of Reference  Scope of the RSP  Operation  Resident Involvement /overlaps  Communication

Developing a brief cont…  Dispute resolution  Recruitment and Selection  Incentives  JDs – Members and Chair  Code of Conduct

Developing a brief cont…  Support  Review and  Evaluation  Budget  Project Plan

How did we get going? We wrote to all residents We interviewed all the initial panel members We interviewed two potential independent chairs They chose the Chair

What did it look like? Min 7 – max 11 Independent chair Equal number of Westlea and OCHA residents, min 3 from each

How do they do it? Originally six meetings a year, now ten Meet physically in Swindon and telephone contact and Internet Forum Portfolios

How do we support it? Supported by dedicated Corporate Governance Officer Budget Mystery Shoppers, Resident Inspectors and ‘Viewpoint’ our resident Market Researchers Coaching “Quiet Friend”

What do they do? 1. Monitoring – Reviewing Balanced Scorecard, Complaints Report, Star Surveys and other customer intelligence. Ensuring management responses to issues are appropriate.

What do they do? 2. Scrutiny – the ability to review any decision taken by GreenSquare or one of it’s subsidiaries through a full scale Inquiry, or an Inquiry Report.

What do they do? 3. Continuous Improvement – agreeing and setting our continuous improvement programme. Delegating reviews to officers and reviewing completed reports.

How far have we come? July 2008 – Board approval February 2009 – 1 st RSP meeting August 2009 – first Inquiry Completed March 2010 – CIOH Evaluation and formal approval Resident Chair appointed September 2010 New Resident Chair appointed April 2013

Lessons Learned? Interim Report from CIH –Less staff –IT Skills essential –Reduce duplication with board/district forum –Integrated recruitment process –Prompt circulation of minutes

Lessons Learned? Final Evaluation –Manage time –More ‘soft’ support –Reduce number of Inquiries –Remember the bigger picture – Inquiry Focussed

Where are we now? RSP appoint own members Appointed their own Chair Processes agreed for responding to Inquiries Quality Assured Scrutiny

Reviews to Date Electrical Heating and Affordable Warmth October 2009 Business Planning March 2010 Aids and Adaptations May 2010 Tackling ASB March 2011 Resident Satisfaction May 2011 Governance Review September 2011

Reviews to Date Financial Inclusion January 2012 Voids February 2012 Supporting Vulnerable Residents October 2013 GreenSquare Investment Decisions 2013

QAS TPAS, Housemark and the Chartered Institute of Housing Use tenant and independent assessors VFM Development tool Supportive development approach

QAS Six Critical Success Factors –Self Assessment –Desktop Assessment –Interviews and on site days –Draft Findings –Assessment Panel –Final Findings Report

QAS CSFs –Clearly Defined and Real Power –Tenant Led and Independent –Clear Roles and Responsibilities with Capacity to Deliver –Decisions Based on Freely Available and Commissioned Information –Embedding Scrutiny in Performance Management Arrangements –Diverse and Accessible

QAS – What did we learn Need to strengthen our links with our wider resident population Need to strengthen the evidence trail that leads to an Inquiry

Thank you and any questions