Agenda item

The Panel received a report which set out a summary of the Resident Engagement Annual Review that covered the financial year 2023-2024. The Annual Review document was attached to the report at Appendix A. The report was introduced by Neehara Wijeyesekera, AD for Housing Management as set out in the agenda pack at pages 93-120. Reda Khelladi, Community & Resident Engagement Manager was also present for this item along with Cllr Sarah Williams, Cabinet Member for Housing & Planning. Afia Ankrumah, the chair of the resident voice board (and a Haringey tenant) was also present for this item. The following arose as part of the discussion of this item:

1. The Panel commented that it would be helpful in future iterations of this report if there was a breakdown of the geographic location of resident associations across the borough. In response, officers agreed to provide this as part of the 2024/25 report and commented that the number of associations had increased to 26.
2. In response to a question about the community food box, officers acknowledged that the relevance for this service had diminished since Covid, given the number of food banks and similar organisations operating in the borough. Officers advised that they would continue to work with partners in this area.
3. The Panel sought clarification about how we advocate the resident voice board to the wider group of residents, particularly those who weren’t particularly engaged. In response, officers advised that they were confident that they had created a process which worked but acknowledged that it was a process that was in development. It was commented that part of this was around including those that were not in the resident governance structure and that they were working to create digital engagement for specific groups. The chair of resident voice board advised that as residents they also talked to other residents informally about resident engagement. It was noted that, as the chair, she had appeared in the residents’ magazine and that people stopped to talk to her. 
4. The Panel sought assurances that resident engagement was happening in every estate across the borough. In response, officers commented that people from across Haringey were represented in the engagement framework. It was also stated that there was a resident association network which brought together the chairs and secretaries of each resident association, and which met every two months. The Director of Housing commented that the resident engagement framework was only 18 months old and acknowledged that there was room for it to grow. The Director commented that having 50 people involved was considered to be good progress, especially compared to what a number of other boroughs were performing in this area.
5. The Chair commented that the statement in the report around every resident having a 30 minute slot as part of the estate drop-ins did not necessarily chime with his experience. In response the Cabinet Member acknowledged that there was a mixed picture and that some drop-in sessions were busier than others.
6. In response to a question, officers advised that the resident continuous improvement group met regularly and that they had reviewed the Council’s support to resident associations as part of their work. As a result of this work, resident associations were now receiving more funding from the Council to help sustain them. There was also a dedicated officer in place who worked with the resident associations and helped them bring in external grant funding.
7. The Panel asked about annual tenant satisfaction surveys, in response officers advised that the regulator of social housing had brought in a range of 22 measures that were compared across the national average. Officers also commented that the report highlighted that in 12 months covered by the report there had been an 18% increase in residents feeling more informed.
8. The Chair invited the chair of the resident voice board to give her perspective as a resident. In response, Afia advised that residents preferred numbers to percentages and stated that it was helpful to see concrete examples of what had changed. In relation the areas of most concern, the Panel were advised that these were repairs and ASB. It was commented that in relation to ASB there were historical problems with complaints being parcelled off to different services, and a perception that there was a lack of a joined up coherent approach to tackling ASB.
9. In response to a question, officers advised that Housing produced an annual report on their performance as a landlord, which was available on the Council website and the latest version covered 2023/24. The Panel requested that the guidance on the new arrangements for supporting the tenants associations be circulated via email. (Action: Neehara).
10. The Chair thanked the Chair of residents voice for giving up her time and coming to speak to the Panel.

RESOLVED

Noted