Agenda item

Members briefing from Lee Page (Resident Involvement Manager) on the pilots schemes in Peckham, Camberwell East and Camberwell West.

7.1  The report was presented to the sub-committee by Lee Page Resident Involvement Manager who informed members of the pilot schemes in Peckham, Camberwell East and Camberwell West.

7.2  The officer asked members to note the progress made on the project to date, and the next steps proposed in the report including the establishment of the pilot boards as sub-groups of the 3 Area Housing Forums. The first task of the subgroups was to look at how to redesign the repairs service to deliver improved satisfaction within the existing budget allocations for these areas.

7.3  Members were also asked to note the forward plan proposed for the development and delivery of these subgroups and the proposed mechanism for evaluation of the projects over the first year.

7.4  The sub-committee were informed that on 22^nd October 2013 the Cabinet approved the report Increasing Tenant and Homeowner Participation in the delivery of council housing services and tasked officers with exploring the options for increasing tenant and homeowner management of and involvement in council housing services.

7.5  The officer reported that in 2014 Tenant Management Initiatives explored how to deliver this commitment and identified 3 pilot areas. Following discussion at Area Housing Forums Camberwell and Peckham indicated that they were interested in exploring the ideas further although there were reservations.

7.6  Members were informed that on the 8^th December 2014, the Senior Management Team agreed a series of actions to improve the quality of customer service:

·  To Change the management arrangements for the repairs service with a local neighbourhood approach, accountable to local resident boards.

·  These boards will include ward councillors and elected resident representatives and will hold the service to account in geographical areas.

·  Will set up estate management boards to give residents more control over the service we deliver in their neighbourhood.

·  Will encourage resident scrutiny of service delivery.

·  Will advertise the potential for residents to take on responsibility for elements of service delivery.

·  Will encourage younger people to get involved and stay involved through the use of new media.

7.7  The officer reported that Tenant Council Expressed concerns about how any new structures might cut across or undermine existing consultation structures and a joint homeowner and tenant Task and Finish Group has been established with the following agreed role:

·  To scrutinise any emerging proposals related to developing pilot schemes for resident led service delivery.

·  To provide an independent check of the impact of any proposals on existing housing consultation structures.

·  To work with the council to develop a consultation strategy on the pilot projects.

·  To scrutinise the impact of the pilot projects a year after implementation.

7.8  The officer reported workshops were organised in Camberwell and Peckham with residents from these areas, Community Engagement and RSO staff, repairs and call centre staff working in the proposed pilot neighbourhoods and there were short sessions at the Community Engagement away day.

7.9  Participant were asked what they valued, what were the issues, to map a user journey, offer solutions to this problem, to identify the benefits of local delivery and greater resident involvement, prioritise services for local delivery, identify roles for residents and suggest who else might be involved and what makes a good area for a pilot project.

7.10  The outcomes of the workshops demonstrated considerable similarities between staff and residents and across the two areas, the key conclusion were:

·  There was an appetite for the council to do things differently. Residents were particularly interested in having more influence over service delivery and in particular there was real interest in more localised service delivery. Residents were clear that responsibility for services needs to remain with the Council and resident and local knowledge is important but that staff were the experts and paid to make decisions.

·  RSOs have emerged as the key role service delivery as the ‘go to individual’, a figure that has developed close relationships with residents, and is trusted. Significantly the RSO group had a number of ideas about how they can delivery services more effectively. This should be built on to improve service satisfaction. Examining how the role can be enhanced or empowered should be considered as a way forward for this project.

·  There were no strong views expressed about the areas that would be most effective for any pilot scheme. In these circumstances it may be best for further work to explore proceeding with areas that are consistent with existing AHF boundaries.

·  There should be a clear relationship between the AHF and whatever emerges from further discussion that allows the AHF to have a key role in guiding, developing and informing the outcomes of the work.

7.11  Members were informed that following discussions at Area Housing Forums and workshops in the summer 2015, the council went back to the areas under consideration to hold a number of workshops and drop-in sessions about setting up RELESE project pilot schemes.

7.12  The sub-committee were informed that RELESE pilots would be iterative and use action learning to develop the structures and work streams. The project would enable the council and residents to benchmark service quality and customer satisfaction against different delivery mechanisms and provide a medium-term agenda for improvement that could be rolled out across the borough and adapted to the needs and capacity of different areas. There would also be a need for investment in on-going evaluation of the programme to capture the learning and knowledge.

7.13  After presenting the report the officer then answered questions from members of the sub-committee.