The Chair reported that Councillor Rowley had been unable to attend the meeting but provided the following observation in advance: “Many congratulations are due to the tenants and officers shortlisted for awards; we are now one of the best Councils in the country for tenant involvement, and this is due not only to the hard work of our own Team but to some brilliant tenants bringing new ideas to the table and making a huge commitment to the work.  I hope the Panel will find the updates on progress with its recommendations useful.”

The Chair was pleased to note the progress made since the recommendations  made by the panel in April 2016.

TherLandlord Services Manager noted that it had, in places, been possible to go further than the Panel had suggested. He was particularly pleased to report that the introduction a new housing management system (for which the contract would be awarded later in the month) would radically improve the online service provided to tenants, enabling swifter and more interactive engagement between tenants and  the many and various Council services.

Members noted that a similarly interactive facility for them to report matters of concern to them to Council officers would be helpful.

Agreed that it would be helpful for members to be aware of who the tenant representatives are in their Wards. Suggestions from Members for good tenant representatives would be welcome.

In relation to the TPAS Regional Awards in February,  he deadline for nominations  is the end of November and the involvement team will be nominating some of our tenants.

Further information about the Trailblazer project mentioned in recommendation 14 was requested. The Landlord Services Manager to follow up with the Housing Strategy & Needs Manager.

Agreed that it would be helpful to resurrect the previous practice in which Members of the Panel meet tenant representatives, say, once a year. This could be combined with the proposed tour of voids mentioned above.

The Landlord Services Manager introduced the report.  He said that the previous tenant scrutiny regime and structure had been discontinued in November 2012 but that the service had come a long way since then, engaging with the Involvement Strategy.  The Council had recently become the third local authority to achieve a TPAS accreditation.  The Tenant Scrutiny Panel was now much more positive and inclusive and there were plans to further improve and develop the Tenant Involvement service in the months ahead. 

The Panel congratulated officers and tenants for turning the service around over recent years and achieving the TPAS accreditation.  The Panel questioned how tenants were recruited and how the Tenant Scrutiny Panel operated before considering each of the tenant involvement activities in turn.

The Panel heard that tenants were recruited to tenant involvement in various ways and that on occasion, some Councillors had come forward with suggestions.

The Panel heard that the balance of the Tenant Scrutiny Panel membership was broadly proportionate to the total numbers of Council tenants and leaseholders.  Tenants had asked for leaseholder involvement in the Tenants in Touch Editorial Panel and planned to include more content specifically aimed at leaseholders.

The Panel questioned the costs of producing Tenants in Touch and heard that it cost £3k produce approximately 8500 copies of each issue and post these to tenants and leaseholders.  The newsletter was included with rents statements to save postage costs following a tenants’ suggestion.  Other suggestions from tenants included presentational changes and the inclusion of a crossword and a ‘no trick or treat poster’, which had been well received.

The Panel asked whether consideration had been given to including paid advertising in Tenants in Touch in order to cover some of the production costs.  The Panel heard that this had not been considered but a tenant suggested that more could be done to promote local charities and support groups.

The Panel questioned how many people accessed Tenants in Touch online and suggested that it should be easy to access and read using the Council’s mobile app.

A tenant involved in testing the online repairs portal advised that significant changes had been made in response to tenants’ feedback.  A further suggestion was that users should be able to easily report other things when accessing the portal, such as incidents of anti-social behaviour, but clarity was needed as to whether this suggestion was being taken forwards.

In response to a question about systems testing, the Panel heard that the Tenant Involvement Team link in with community-based IT training provision and publicising this training on the portal.  The Panel supported these links, as well as continuing to involve tenants in trialling online services.

The Panel heard that tenant involvement in procurement had raised the bar and provided real empowerment.  The furnished tenancy scheme had enabled tenants to make choices about their living environments.  The same process was followed for the Tower Block Refurbishment Programme, where tenants were involved in choosing questions, interviewing and scoring contractors.  It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48