Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member for Housing on the Tenant Involvement Strategy.

Decision

Cabinet approves the Tenant Involvement Strategy 2019-24 as attached to Appendix 1 of the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing subject to the strategy document being brought in line with corporate branding

Reasons for decision

1.         The report of the Cabinet Member for Housing on the draft Tenant Involvement Strategy and the draft strategy attached as Appendix 1 to the report

2.         The draft strategy complements the Tenant Involvement Framework which was approved by Cabinet in May 2018

3.         Feedback from the Communities and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the Tenant Involvement Framework

4.         Feedback from a workshop held with tenants on 24 May 2019 at which the framework and proposed strategy were discussed

5.         A key commitment within the strategy was to feedback to tenants through the tenants’ newsletter and an annual report detailing outcomes and work undertaken throughout the year

6.         A 3-year satisfaction survey undertaken by the Council that measures how satisfied tenants are with the way the Council provides its services

Other options considered and rejected

It is a requirement for local authorities (under the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard 2017 from the Homes and Communities Agency as part of the Regulatory Framework for Social Housing) to involve and engage their tenants and therefore to do nothing would place the authority at risk of challenge.

In presenting the draft Tenant Involvement Strategy, which the Cabinet was being asked to adopt, the Cabinet Member for Housing explained the document set out how tenants could engage with the Council acting in its capacity as landlord. He added that the strategy represented a commitment by Council to support tenants, who were asked to take part in a satisfaction survey every three-years. Skyline, the tenants’ magazine, was being used to communicate with tenants and keep them informed of what was going on.

Cabinet Members asked about the current tenant satisfaction rate; when the last survey was undertaken, satisfaction exceeded 80% and the target was set to surpass this the next time the survey was carried out.

Members were happy with the wording of the draft Strategy but noted that the Council’s Corporate branding needed applying to the document.

It was AGREED:

Cabinet approves the Tenant Involvement Strategy 2019-24 as attached to Appendix 1 of the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing subject to the strategy document being brought in line with corporate branding