Resident representatives studied which services are most important to residents. Feedback from tenants helped them plan three Local Offers for 2011/12.
Local Offers are local services for residents, delivered in ways that make a real difference to residents’ lives on their estates.
Click on the headers below to find out more about the three Local Offers chosen by tenants:
Tenant empowerment - residents’ housing regulation panel
The residents' housing regulation panel will closely scrutinise the performance of the housing services prioritised by tenants and leaseholders. If a service is below standard, they will have the authority to get it brought up to standard.
The difference it will make to tenants
Residents’ independent regulation panel:
- will decide for themselves which services to scrutinise, based on residents’ feedback
- for 2011, have already decided to scrutinise the services that provide you with:
- communal cleaning
- maintenance of communal grounds and gardens
- window-cleaning
- will do a thorough programme of unannounced, anonymous inspections out on your estates
- will produce a report of their findings, specifying service-areas that need to improve
- have the power to put things right wherever they find a service is below standard
- will communicate their progress to all residents quarterly in Open Door magazine, seeking your views and feedback.
The home - resident inspectors for work on your home
Trained tenants and leaseholders will inspect the quality of work done:
- on tenants’ homes as part of the Decent Homes improvements
- on vacated homes before they are re-let.
The council will genuinely take on board and where possible implement their recommendations for improvements.
The difference it will make to tenants
Resident inspectors will:
- receive full training enabling them to do rigorous inspection of works done on a property
- do regular independent inspections of Decent Homes work, and work on vacated properties
- inspect both the physical work and the quality of customer service the tenant feels they received
- report their findings to the council at monthly meetings of the residents’ technical liaison group
- receive agreement from the council to make any appropriate improvements within agreed deadlines
- communicate regularly to all tenants and leaseholders in Open Door magazine about progress, the quality of the work and the improvements made.
Neighbourhood and community - priority for vulnerable people experiencing anti-social behaviour
Anti-social behaviour complaints involving a vulnerable person will initially be given priority status.
Lower level anti-social behaviour happening repeatedly to the same person or taking place repeatedly in the same location may also be given top priority if there is a more serious underlying problem, like the deliberate targeting of a household. Like all priority complaints about anti-social behaviour, they will be responded to within one working day.
The difference it will make to tenants
The council’s Anti-Social Behaviour Service will:
- respond to all priority complaints about anti-social behaviour within one working day
- fast-track as ‘priority’ any complaints involving vulnerable people, or repeated recurrence
- respond to all other complaints about anti-social behaviour within two to seven working days
- publish its policy and service guarantees on the council’s website
- publish how it performs against these targets four times a year on the council’s website
- give every user of the service a customer satisfaction form to see how happy they were, using this to improve the service continually
- respond to any complaint about the Anti-Social Behaviour Service within seven working days.
The independent residents’ housing regulation panel, as well as being chosen as a Local Offer, will also oversee the other two Local Offers.
Throughout the year they will use Open Door magazine to keep you informed on how well the Local Offers are being delivered. They will review the Local Offers by spring 2012, either creating new Local Offers for 2012 or refreshing and updating the existing ones - whichever tenants prefer.
Contact
If you would like to find out more about Local Offers or if you have any questions, please email yourhomeyoursay@cambridge.gov.uk or telephone 01223 458323.
