Welcome

Hello From… Martin Brennan John Jennings Sandra Webster

" I thought that it was going to be intrusive and that Scrutiny would criticise our work - I was WRONG, they came up with ideas that will improve our customer experience“ Team member from Voids Team

This presentation will discuss… How Tenant Scrutiny Panel (TSP) was formed. What training was provided. What the issues of focus are. Examples of our contribution to a better service. What we would have done differently with the benefit of hindsight. Our relationship with the Board, other tenants and HPCH officers. Some helpful suggestions. Your questions.

The Formation of Tenant Scrutiny Panel Initially it was identified by HPCH that the formation of a scrutiny group was the next step for tenant involvement. Work started in October 2009 to create a scrutiny group. The existing Tenant’s Forum was used as a steering group for the project. Developed aims, objectives, roles and definitions. Initially set membership limit to 12. Members consist of tenants and leaseholders.

The Formation of Tenant Scrutiny Panel From the existing Tenant’s Forum 9 members made the transition to scrutiny. For different reasons, 2 Forum members did not continue in the process. HPCH held recruitment drives in the form of ‘Meet the company’ days, and from these an additional member was obtained. Tenant Forum was officially disbanded in September 2010, and TSP became a reality. However, we didn’t get to this stage without some assistance…

Training and Support Through prior association with HPCH, the services of Linda Levin Partnership (LLP) were selected to assist in the training of TSP. Training and team building sessions were organised. These included out of office sessions which helped reduce the formality of the training process. Strengths and weaknesses within the panel were identified, and strategies to overcome weaknesses were devised. Both TSP and LLP contributed to defining an operating framework.

Training and Support Operating framework included: – Member protocols – Role purpose – Objectives – Methodologies – Communication plans Within the initial training sessions, an analysis of some of the major company performance indicators was undertaken, which contributed towards the initial topics of scrutiny.

Training and Support Support from HPCH has included the provision of a resource room, which is of sufficient size to conduct meetings in and is equipped with expected office equipment. Throughout whole process there has been on-going administrative support provided by HPCH. There has been consistent and on-going investment by HPCH for the training of panel members, which has included VFM training. A Housemark account was created for benchmarking purposes.

Issues of Focus As a scrutiny panel we focus on all issues, and the decision to scrutinise a specific topic is ours. However, we rely upon various mediums to identify issues of relevance. These include: -TSA Standards -Performance Indicators -Tenant Feedback -Housemark -Local offers -Board, Sub-group and Management input

Meeting Times On average we meet every month at a minimum. Initially with the support of LLP who helped guide the structure of our meetings. However, in period of high intensity, we have found ourselves meeting at weekly intervals! In addition to group meetings, there will be additional time demands depending upon the topic of scrutiny. Our recent void property scrutiny involved numerous property visits for information gathering.

Positive Examples of Change As we have developed as a group there have been noticeable, positive changes within the relationship we have with HPCH. Which will hopefully be beneficial for our further development as an effective group within our role of scrutiny. Re-let standards are now issued prior to property viewing. Eyes wide open policy is in use for all concerned staff. The location of stopcock, gas and electric meters is provided at sign-up.

Positive Examples of Change Wheelie bins are now left empty for new tenants. Amendments have been made to promissory notes to provide greater clarity of outstanding repairs for new tenants. Amendments have also been made to pre-inspection sheets to ensure a more detailed pre-inspection and earlier detection of necessary repairs. Since the void report was presented to Board, from the 41 recommendations made, 25 were accepted and the remaining 16 are being investigated.

Tenant Scrutiny Panel

The Benefit of Hindsight The following observations were pooled from the opinions of all our panel members. The allocation of a budget might have produced a greater level of independence. We would have prioritised the stages of the void process and would have channelled our resources accordingly. Identify the scope of your review at the earliest point in the process. This can help in deciding upon what information is needed.

The Benefit of Hindsight Impress upon staff the need to be kept informed of any changes which may affect your review. Very little company policy is static, and changes can impact the relevance of your final review. Enquire about previous inspection reports for your chosen area. You may find there are already unresolved issues from previous recommendations. Whilst we did not generate sufficient applications for membership, we also subsequently reduced the preferred size to 11. This will result in decisive votes and reduced potential costs.

The Benefit of Hindsight On reflection we might have given too much consideration to the views of managers, and a wider scope of company opinions may have been more beneficial. It might have been more effective to allow for a brief time to decide on our approach, and then present this to the related manager for approval. By doing so, the manager would be committing themselves to facilitating our research design which might be beneficial to the smooth running of the review.

Happy Families Without question, we are lucky to have the full support from HPCH Board: "The Board have been amazed at the thoroughness and expertise on the investigation scrutiny have presented to the Board. It is an exciting opportunity for the whole tenant and company experience." As numerous members are already associated with other tenant groups, there already exists a good relationship. As TSP develops we will seek to strengthen these bonds and utilise their skills to contribute to our reviews.

Happy Families As a group, we were all very proud of our first report, and would like to think that all related staff received it favourably. "I would like to offer you an assurance that we are totally committed to what you are doing as I believe it is not only meaningful but ground breaking." Head of Homes & Communities High Peak Community Housing.

Scrutiny Panel collate list of potential reviews Discuss with appropriate chair of sub group and Head of Service Agree program and publish to Board Scope reviews with input from sub group, head of service and managers Managers inform staff of review Review begins Feedback to Manager and Head of Service on progress Review completed. Draft report discussed with Service Area Exec & manager and actions and timescales agreed

The Newsletter Page This is our contribution to the current HPCH newsletter. Just another example of the support and good relationship which exists between TSP and HPCH.

Our Suggestions Be prepared for the workload to gradually increase with the number of reviews that you undertake. Identify members who are particularly interested in certain topics, and delegate the post inspection reviews to these members. It will soon become impossible for a single person to juggle numerous reviews! Do not assume that all members share the same perspective. Clarify that all members share the same interpretation of discussions and information.

Our Suggestions. Be objective. Strive to produce a report that is balanced, as you will identify both positive and negative practices. Don’t rush to generalise. Remember that you will be dealing with individuals, not robots, and each opinion collected will usually be unique to that particular situation. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Take time to create a group that all members are happy with. Establishing good codes of conduct and protocols provide sound foundations.

Our Suggestions. Keep a record of unrelated issues that are encountered in your reviews – they may provide the stimulus for future reviews. Generate contacts with other scrutiny panels where possible. If in doubt…Ask

Before We Finish Our report is available in pdf format on request via . We are happy to be contacted for any scrutiny related issues.