Agenda item

The report details a review that has been undertaken in order to meet new national requirements and to develop a clear vision for the customer involvement service.  This strategy provides a framework for priority actions needed in the short and medium term to develop a service which not only meets current needs, but will be appropriate in the future.

It covers a three year period from 2012 to 2015, but will be kept under review and updated at the end of each year. This Strategy details where Stockport Homes is at the moment and where Stockport Homes wants to be over the next three years, setting out priorities for customer involvement and how these will be achieved.

The action plan lists the areas of work to be undertaken during the next three years.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on the new Customer Involvement Strategy. 

Officer contact: Samantha Hill on 474 2861 or e-mail: samantha.hill@stockporthomes.org

Sandra Coleing (Director of Corporate Service, Stockport Homes ) and Samantha Hill (Customer Involvement Manager, Stockport Homes) attended the meeting and made a presentation in relation to the review of the current Customer Involvement Strategy that had been undertaken in order to meet new national requirements and to develop a clear vision for the customer involvement service.  It was stated that the strategy would provide a framework for priority actions needed in the short and medium term to develop a service which not only met current needs, but would be appropriate in the future.

The Strategy covered a three year period from 2012 to 2015, but it was stated that it would be kept under review and updated at the end of each year.  The Strategy detailed where Stockport Homes was at the moment and where Stockport Homes wanted to be over the next three years, setting out priorities for customer involvement and how those would be achieved.  The action plan also listed the areas of work to be undertaken during the next three years.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         A discussion took place around the membership of the various customer engagement bodies established by Stockport Homes and how the recruitment for these took place.  It was stated that there had been an evolution of the mechanisms by which Stockport Homes sought to consult and engage with tenants with a particular emphasis on making the process more interactive and customer lead.  It was further reported that through the various events and initiatives undertaken by Stockport Homes, over 1,100 tenants had signed up to be included on the Customer Involvement Database.

·         It was important that Stockport Homes remained flexible in its arrangements for customer involvement.  It was noted that in the past Stockport Homes had arranged events in the evenings; provided childcare and developed an online discussion forum and Facebook pages to provide as many avenues as possible for tenants to engage.

·         Concern was expressed with regard to customer complaints around anti-social behaviour and that this was not explicitly focussed on in the report.  In response it was stated that Stockport Homes had a specific strategy in respect of anti-social behaviour, and copies would be circulated to members of the Scrutiny Committee.

·         Stockport Homes worked with a number of partners and agencies in relation to homelessness in the Borough.

·         Members noted the work being undertaken to encourage older people to develop skills using new technology, but commented that it was important to ensure that by emphasising digital inclusion this did not lead to social isolation.  In response it was stated that a great deal of work had been done around isolation amongst older people and that ICT classes had been undertaken in group sessions with social events often being linked with those classes.

·         It was commented that the transition from Area Forums to Community Count Events had resulted in a reduction in the number of opportunities residents had to engage with Stockport Homes.  However, this was complemented by a Boroughwide Roadshow during which the Community Fund was promoted.

·         The development of the current range of mechanisms by which tenants could become more involved had been led by a greater understanding and appreciation of what tenants considered worked in the past and what hadn’t.

·         The aims of the Strategy were laudable, but recognition needed to be given to the fact that the vast majority of tenants did not want to engage or become more involved.  It was further commented that residents’ concerns in relation to Stockport Homes were around issues of anti-social behaviour and criminality in their neighbourhoods rather than customer involvement.

·         The methods by which the success of the Customer Involvement Strategy would be measured was discussed which included the difference made to tenants’ lives which would be assessed by using a wide range of indicators and from the responses to the biannual Customer Satisfaction Survey.

RESOLVED – That the Stockport Homes Customer Involvement Strategy be noted and that the comments of the Scrutiny Committee be forwarded to the Board of Stockport Homes for their consideration.