Stepping Up to Scrutiny – in practice TPAS Conference 2014 Ann Marie Stanley, Scottish Government Marian Reid, CIH Scotland

Setting the Scene Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 Statutory requirement for tenant participation strategies Rights to be consulted on key areas of service and standards of service Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 Scottish Social Housing Charter Standards and outcomes Self-assessment by landlords Annual Return on the Charter (plus Annual Report) Role of Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR)

Aim / Purpose of the Charter Improve quality & value of services provided States what customers can expect from landlord Focus landlords on achieving outcomes that matter to their customers Establish basis for Regulator to assess & report on landlords performance

What should tenants expect? To be consulted by the landlord & agree how they will be involved in the self assessment Know what approach the landlord is taking to involve tenants in the self assessment Have opportunities to be involved meaningfully / effectively in assessing their landlords performance & the collection of information on the ARC Have opportunities to be part of regular & continuous performance monitoring

Stepping Up to Scrutiny Commissioned by the Scottish Government Three years - 34 housing organisations Programme covers tenants, staff and Board Key stages: Background to scrutiny/understanding performance information Preparation for scrutiny Pilot scrutiny exercise Debrief session

Support Charter Implementation Longstanding Scottish Government commitment to support Charter implementation through a scrutiny learning programme Tenant Scrutiny is new to Scotland and keen to support a consistent, quality approach to developing scrutiny activities in Scotland Supports service improvement by giving tenants the knowledge to understand, question and compare how well their own landlord is performing Keen to see landlords introduce regular and systematic scrutiny arrangements as part of their overall performance monitoring systems

Objectives include Embedding a culture of scrutiny in organisation (including governance arrangements) Empowering tenants – understanding scrutiny, able to give peer support Strengthening connections - between scrutiny and performance management, vfm Clarifying role and boundaries

Discussion point………. Where are you on the Participation Pyramid? Control Influence Partnership Consultation Information giving

Scrutiny … some definitions Dictionary: Critical observation or examination CIH: where customers’ priorities, views and engagement with relevant processes are at the heart of housing organisations’ framework for directing, accounting for, monitoring, accessing and modifying their own behaviour and performance Centre for Public Scrutiny: The activity by an elected or appointed organisation examining and monitoring a public sector body with the aim of improving the quality of public services

Scrutiny.. Not just Housing…

Understanding the Scrutiny Role Participation = Day to Day Scrutiny = independent, influence, impact… Governance = Board

Coverage includes: Implications of Charter Getting to grips with performance data Supporting tenants in monitoring landlord performance Understanding long-term trends & VFM Role of Boards/councillors How to involve other services users/customers Action planning for scrutiny Monitoring progress and moving forward

What this means in practice Imparting knowledge and information Improving skills Enthusing participants! Added value of potential qualification - L3 Award in Tenant Scrutiny

Discussion points…… How are you currently involved as tenants/customers? How effective is this? What progress has your landlord made towards scrutiny?

Progress to date Currently working with over 13 organisations across Scotland (with more in pipeline) Average 9 tenants, 13 staff and 11 Board per organisation Some challenges emerging – e.g. capacity of smaller RSLs, pilot scrutiny exercise Has your organisation/have you taken part?

Lessons so far… Scrutiny works best where TP strategies are well established Tenants need support to get involved (and stay involved) Momentum needs to be maintained post-programme – have a plan!! Won’t answer all your questions - will generate discussion and new ones! Good practice points emerging

Moving forward……… What other support do tenants need to take part in scrutiny? Any other points? For further information contact: Marian Reid, CIH Scotland Tel: 0131 225 4544 Email: marian.reid@cih.org