ACHIEVEMENTS OF NORTH LANARKSHIRE FEDERATION
We have assisted Tenants Groups (both new and old)...
...by ensuring tenant groups get the rights they deserve.
1. Enshrining a Code of Practice. The Housing Scotland Act 2001 gives tenants organisations basic rights to information, consultation and participation. However it does not say how these rights are to be practically implemented by North Lanarkshire Council. The Federation, together with the Convener of Housing were successful in developing new rights & standards for tenants groups. This Code of Practice details rights never given before to tenants groups in North Lanarkshire. It gives groups and our members rights to better information, rights to effectively participate on their own terms and rights to have a stronger say than ever granted before.
2. Developing a Corporate Customer Charter. You want to know when you will get a response to your letter. You want to know when a repair will be done. You want to know how long it takes to deal with antisocial behaviour. Together with the Council we have developed a Charter that tells you all of this and more. No longer do different services in the council operate differently. There are now standards for all services throughout the council.
... by improving the support for tenants groups
3. Getting independent support for tenants groups. We have ensured that tenants groups get the best possible professional advice & support available. A key part of this is the successful negotiations over the Tenants & Residents Development Support Project. The project provides training, advice and support to groups 5 days a week. It has grown since it started in 2004 and now also includes dedicated Outreach Support.
4. Enhancing the role of first stop shops to support groups locally. We have reviewed how much (non-financial) support local housing offices give tenants groups. We want all tenants groups to be able to get good quality additional support in their own areas. We have successfully reviewed the support given by housing offices such as photocopying, booking venues, administration, local information & advice and staff attending local meetings. We are currently negotiating improvements.
5. Supporting groups to get the funding they need. We are currently reviewing the Housing Services grant of £400 per year. We don't want groups to have to jump through thousands of loops to get the funding they need. We do want to make sure the funding system fits the needs of tenant groups. We have been successful in working with the council to establish the review.
6. Increasing the number of places at the TIS conference.This conference is the largest tenants gathering in Scotland. We have successfully increased the number of places year on year. In 2009 we even doubled the number of places given to tenants group so that there were 16 places available. This is in comparison to 8 free places available to groups in 2008.
7. Assisting tenants groups to get the right written information at the right time. We have developed a new and improved information pack for people interested in starting a tenants group. We have developed a new Tenant Handbook for anyone moving into a new house. We have improved the information that the public gets about the Capital Programme. We have developed a website especially for tenants groups in North Lanarkshire. We have our own newsletter for tenants groups in North Lanrkshire. We have developed a communication strategy that aims to give tenants groups in North Lanarkshire some information from the Federation every month.
8. Developing and paying for training opportunities for tenants groups. Together with the TIS support project we have organised and in some cases funded over 35 training events for tenants groups. At all the events we have provided full expenses and refreshments to make sure the sessions are accessible as possible for members of tenants groups. Over 550 people attended training events & workshops.
9. Running conferences for tenants groups. In May 2009 we held our first conference. Around 100 people attended and it was rated by all the delegates as extremely successful. On the 16th June 2007 we also held a smaller community conference about the repairs service. This brought together over 50 representatives from tenants groups and all the key players in the repairs service (Housing Services, MPC, & Saltire) to run workshops about a new repairs service for North Lanarkshire.
... by setting up new tenants groups throughout North Lanarkshire
10. In 2003 there were 35 tenants organisations. Since then 40 new tenants groups have started leading to 66 active tenants organisations in 2009. Almost forty of these are members of the Federation.
... by getting more tenants groups registered & legally recognised
11. In 2006 there were 26 Registered Tenant Organisations in North Lanarkshire. Now there are 51.
WE HAVE GOT TENANTS' GROUPS IN NORTH LANARKSHIRE WIDELY RECOGNISED...
... by gaining national recognition
12. Through awards. We were nominated for the Local Government Chronicle Award for Community Involvement in 2008. We won the North Lanarkshire Council's Corporate Award for Promoting Community Safety and Development in 2008 and won the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) Bronze Excellence Award for Community Planning and Local Democracy in 2009. Tenant Participation in North Lanarkshire has been cited as best value by the Audits Commission Report 2008 and best practice in CharterMark Awards 2006, 2007 and 2008.
13. Through national conferences and publicity. We have participated at national conferences and events, including holding information stalls at the TIS conference in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and running a workshop at the TIS conference in 2009.
14. Through making links with organisations operating throughout Scotland. This includes more than twenty three Housing Associations operating in North Lanarkshire, and national tenant participation avenues including the Regional Networks and the Tenants Regulatory Advisory Group. We've also met up with other Federations in Dundee, Perth & Kinross, East Lothian and West Lothian to learn about what happens in other areas.
...by developing a public image as an effective representative organisation
14. We've got a great newsletter. We have developed a newsletter for local tenants groups. This has been dislayed in every community centre, library, first stop shop and also circulated to all tenants groups, Local Councillors and Housing Association in North Lanarkshire. So far it has been distributed to over 14,000 people and hundreds of organisations.
15. We've developed a fantastic website. Our site gets updated at least monthly and received specific funding to set it up.Last time we checked we get around 40,000 hits a year on the site. The site was launched in November 2008.
16. We've developed display boards for events. The boards are a great way of getting a visual message across. They contain loads of information including a photo exhibition of our passed events
17. We've organised large events. We've just organised our first conference which had over 100 people attend it. We organise four open meetings a year which generally attract 40-70 delegates. We've held open days, launch days and other events. We're also assisted NLC organise their conferences in 2007 and 2008, and spoke at both of them to around 160 delegates.
18. Using any other publicity method available to us. When we're not developing our own publicity materials we are using other peoples. Since we started we have had several articles in the North Lanarkshire News and Tenants News, which gets regularly distributed to every household and tenants throughout the year. We have now agreed with Housing Services to synchronise our publicity materials so that the public gets something about the Federation at least every 3 months.
19. Develop a communication strategy. This aims to give local tenant groups information about the Federation every month whether through written information or face to face events.
20. By developing an award scheme for our members. We want tenants groups to be recognised and valued for the key decisions they make and services they improve. This come from volunteers time and commitments. So we need to make sure we recognise and value our members before we can expect others to do the same. This is why we have set up an award scheme for groups who have an input into the bigger picture through the North Lanarkshire Federation.
WE HAVE IMPROVED COUNCIL SERVICES...
... by being key partners in the Council's working groups
21. The Allocation Policy Working Group. This group met up for over a year to discuss and develop a new Council Allocation Policy. The policy is closely tied to the Common Housing Register.
22. The Continuous Improvement Group for Estate Management. This group has met regularly to develop how our estates are managed and developed. Part of our achievements include conducting two hard impacting surveys on estate walkabouts.
23. The Tenant Participation Strategy Monitoring Group. This group meets to discuss how tenants groups are involved in making decisions and is guided by the Tenant Participation Strategy. We have been successful in supporting the review of the Tenant Participation Strategy 2006-2009 and the establishment of a new strategy for 2009-2012. This group also monitors the Code of Practice and local action plans, and has been involved in reviewing information sent out to tenants groups, and reviewing support given to tenants groups.
24. Meeting the Convener of Housing Services & Head of Housing. This allows tenants groups a chance to discuss key matters of concern for North Lanarkshire with the top of the management structure and brings wide benefits to local groups. Through this
... by putting pressure on services through conducting surveys & independent tenant led reviews
25. We have conducted 6 surveys with tenants groups and council staff. These have provided valuable information on funding given to tenants groups, support from Housing Offices, estate walkabouts, chairperons meetings our business plan & priorities for local groups. All of this has improved council services.
26. We have called for full reviews on key issues. Currently we are reviewing the chairpersons meetings to ensure that they work as effectively as possible. We want to make sure that the voices of tenants groups are as clear and effective as possible. To do that we want to make sure that all meetings tenants groups attend with North Lanarkshire are clearly effective.
