Aberdeen City Council Reviewing our housing allocations policy Using consultation to shape policy

Aberdeen City Council Philippa Mason Research Officer & Citizens Panel Co-ordinator Strategic Research and Information Team Aberdeen City Council Tel:

Aberdeen City Council Background to research Aberdeen City Council currently own and manage approx. 23,000 properties 8,000 applicants on the housing waiting list Demand outstrips supply Priority needs to be housing those most in need.

Aberdeen City Council Background to research What is an allocations policy? Current allocations policy –Largely unchanged for many years –Small changes ‘patched’ on –Complicated and difficult to understand –Frustrating for customers and staff –No longer working Allocations Policy Review

Aberdeen City Council Why consult? Is our ‘hunch’ correct? Existing and future tenants will be affected Strong tradition of consultation and tenant participation – expectation Political and public scrutiny

Aberdeen City Council Expectations for consultation That it’s outcome will inform the possible models of allocation That it involves as many tenants and waiting list applicants as possible Should use several consultation techniques to make it as inclusive as possible Should be thorough and well planned Honest and upfront Should be a positive experience that will act as a blueprint for future consultation Regular, honest and accessible feedback

Aberdeen City Council Consultation programme Who? Current tenants Future tenants – waiting list applicants Staff How? Using the right technique to gauge the information required Quantitative and qualitative data required - mixed methodology approach –Survey or a ‘census’ of tenants and waiting list applicants –Staff focus groups –Tenant focus groups

Aberdeen City Council Survey 23,000 tenants and 5,000 waiting list applicants 4 attitudinal questions (strongly agree, agree etc…) 3 questions to gauge variables (age, gender and housing tenure) 1 additional question about taking part in a focus group 1538 tenants and waiting list applicants responded – 5.5% of those surveyed. Headline results Application form was straight forward enough, but the system was not so easy to understand! Respondents were generally dissatisfied with the feedback they received on the progress of their applications Younger age groups were generally more dissatisfied

Aberdeen City Council Staff focus groups Which staff? –staff that manage and work with the allocations policy »directly and indirectly »internal to the council and externally »All levels Why? –Work with the allocations system on a day to day basis - have a through understanding of its advantages and disadvantages. –Widen the consultation net – policy affects more than just those closest to us –Encourage feelings of ownership over new policy

Aberdeen City Council Tenant Focus Groups 160 focus group volunteers Selected a sample - random stratified sampling Format was identical - consistent approach and adhered to guidelines Consultation in context – complex area

Aberdeen City Council Conclusions from focus groups Getting to grips with the detail –Application form straight forward, medical form more complicated –Lack of personal contact when an application has been made –Points system is preferable, but public need to be aware of how it works –A more honest approach ‘ what’s my chances of actually getting a house?’ Next Steps Research has been used to create 4 models of allocation Presented to Council later this year

Aberdeen City Council Lessons learnt Research led policy making Using the correct method to capture the data required Only asking questions about things that can be influenced Feedback as standard Additional benefits