In March, Tenant Voice held their annual planning day to set priorities for the coming year and to agree the scrutiny programme for 2025-2026. The session provided an opportunity for members to reflect on the key areas of focus within their terms of reference.

How priorities were decided:

Decisions were made based on what customers have been telling us through complaints, Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) and other feedback. Members also considered the wider corporate plan commitments and regulation to make sure they are focusing on the right areas.

Work plan focus for 2025-2026:

• Receiving and reviewing action plans developed in response to customer feedback, ensuring that changes are being implemented effectively.
• Providing robust evidence of customer influence within decision-making processes, demonstrating how feedback leads to tangible improvements.
• Evaluating the long-term outcomes of previous customer-led changes to assess their effectiveness and sustainability.
• Overseeing engagement activity linked to the Asset Management Strategy, ensuring customers play a key role in shaping housing investments and improvements.
• Undertaking a deeper dive into shared ownership services and customer satisfaction, identifying any areas for enhancement and addressing customer concerns.

Scrutiny programme for 2025-2026:

Rents – looking at affordability, transparency, and how rent policies impact customers.
Relets – checking how quickly homes are turned around, the condition they are in when let and how smooth the move-in experience is for customers.
Complaints – reviewing how complaints are handled, how quickly they are resolved and whether the process is working well for customers.
Kitchen and bathroom modernisations – making sure that communication is clear and consistent, work is done well, on time and that customers are happy with the results.
 
By focusing on these areas, Tenant Voice will have continued oversight of how customers are shaping services and being involved in decision making.

At their meeting on 27 March 2025, the Community Housing Board approved the Tenant Voice work plan and scrutiny programme. The Board welcomed the focus on ensuring customer influence is embedded across key service areas and recognised the importance of ongoing scrutiny in delivering meaningful improvements.

Moving forward, Tenant Voice will work closely with teams across the organisation to monitor progress and ensure that customer feedback continues to drive positive change. Regular updates will be shared to keep customers informed of progress.