Tenant Scrutiny in Croydon Marilyn Smithies & Michael Hewlett, Tenant Scrutiny Steering Group Chris Stock, Head of Performance, Croydon Council
Introducing Croydon Council Very diverse stock and population Stock retained council 16,000 tenants and leaseholders Excellent track record in resident involvement (Beacon council in resident involvement & champions for London region)
Current scrutiny activities Performance monitoring panel Tenant & Leaseholder Panel (strategic & policy decisions) Mystery shopping Estate inspections Neighbourhood voices Service review panels Resident service inspectors
Resident Service Inspectors Carryout detailed inspection of a specified service area and make recommendations for improvements to senior management. This may include some or all of the following: –Desk top review (policies/procedures/publicity/information) –Interview/shadow managers & front line officers/contractors –Interview tenants –Benchmark similar housing providers –Review performance/tenant satisfaction data –Site inspections Draft & present report of their findings to senior management Agree action plan for implementation of recommendations
Development of Tenant Scrutiny Panel Need to co-ordinate and monitor all scrutiny activities Tenant steering group formed to develop panel Examined good practice elsewhere Agreed Purpose/role Membership Recruitment Operation Accountability to all tenants Equality Impact Assessment
Purpose of Scrutiny Panel Commission scrutiny reports Consider reports and present recommendations to senior mangers Agree action plans with senior managers Monitor action plans Refer any serious service failures to Executive Director or Cabinet Member Communicate activities to all tenants
Membership & Operation 10 tenants or leaseholders 1 independent ‘expert’ 1 tenant from another social housing provider Self servicing Terms of reference & code of conduct Rotating chair Monthly meetings Liaison officer from Resident Participation Team
Recruitment Job advert (tenants’ newsletter, community groups, housing sounding board, job centres) Self assessment form Short listing & Interview panel (Independent) To recruit 10 panel members plus 5 reserves Training programme To serve for 2 years (all stand down but can apply again along with other applicants)
Summary Make full use of any established scrutiny mechanisms Ensure that tenants are fully involved in development from the start Don’t reinvent the wheel – lots of good practice around Make sure that scrutiny has ‘teeth’ Make sure management are on board and officers understand the benefits and need for tenant scrutiny Minimise any consultancy or training costs through joint working with other landlords Ensure outcomes of scrutiny are reported to all tenants
Questions & Discussion