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RESIDENT INVOLVEMENT STATEMENT
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HOMES LIMITE D
Great Homes Great Neighbourhoods Great People
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Get Involved At New Charter we strive to achieve our vision:
‘Great Homes, Great Neighbourhoods, Great People’ We do this by ensuring our residents are at the heart of our business and have the opportunity to take part in improving and shaping our performance and the standard of our services. This statement is for residents of New Charter Homes. This covers anyone living in a New Charter home, which includes tenants, leaseholders, shared owners, freeholders who pay service charges, people in temporary housing and people in supported housing. New Charter will continue to involve, consult, monitor and review its business, primarily with its residents.We understand not everyone wants the same level of involvement and that’s why we have produced a variety of informal and formal involvement opportunities for you to choose from. Many involvement activities can be completed from your own home. Whether it is taking a backstage role or having a lead role, we will give you as little or as much support and training at a level you are comfortable with. The choice is all yours!
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A backstage part
If you prefer a backstage part, we have a range of information for you to access
You can access: • Our Resident Involvement Strategy – Our strategy of aims and objectives includes a variety of opportunities to make involvement happen • Our Tenants’ Annual Report – An overview of the year at New Charter written by residents, giving details of performance and achievements in all service areas • Our Annual Impact Assessment Report – A summary of how residents have been involved in improving services and the changes made as a result throughout the year • Tenants’ magazine, local neighbourhood newsletters and the Homes and Community newsletter – To keep in touch with activities in your communities and across the borough • Take a look at Our involvement events – Our Resident Involvement team offers training sessions, meetings and themed events for you to come along to. All are listed on the New Charter website, on Looking Local and in the tenants’ magazine
• Neighbourhood Plans – Our plans for your neighbourhood with detailed actions on how we aim to achieve a 5 star rating for all within three years • Visit our ‘Get Involved’ section on the New Charter Housing Trust Group website at www.newcharter.co.uk • Follow New Charter activities and comments via social media, such as Facebook,Twitter, blogs and Looking Local – Add comments to these sites and join in live chats • Put your name on our Customer Sounding Board – Add your name to our resident involvement database and we will send you regular information • Make a comment via our comments card – Fill out a comment card at one of our Customer Advice Centres (Hubs) or post your comment on-line • Take part in our various surveys – Give us your feedback by completing a survey Being involved in any of these small roles would be minimal time commitment and can all be done from the comfort of your own home
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Play a smaller part in the performance If you would like to get involved and have more of a say in the performance then we provide formal and informal flexible opportunities for you to help shape future services and improve performance. You can: • Attend a focus group – A one off session, usually for an hour, to discuss a common issue and gain resident views • Neighbourhood forum meetings – Informal neighbourhood meetings to discuss common local issues and work towards improving services and environments. Held in your neighbourhoods, facilitated by the Resident Involvement team. Usually last around two hours. • Shared interest forum – These meetings are usually held quarterly with specific user groups to discuss common issues, including sheltered scheme forums, leaseholders, young people and supported housing • Mystery shopping – Help us test our services by taking part in a mystery shop every three months to monitor our customer service and response rate
• Attend and observe - A New Charter Board meeting held quarterly for around two hours • Attend a training course – We offer a range of training courses from committee skills, flower arranging to basic first aid. All are advertised in our Tenants’ magazine and on the New Charter website and are open to all residents • Attend a consultation event - Either in your neighbourhood regarding a local issue or at the New Charter head office to discuss a service area. These events are advertised locally and within our tenant’s magazine • Attend our annual residents’ showcase event – Come along to our showcase event where there are many activities for children themed workshops and an opportunity to meet new friends.
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Or take a lead role If you really want to get involved in improving our performance then take a lead role. Get involved in setting and monitoring standards and targets to influence and shape future services. You can become: ATenant Board member – Become a member and sit on the New Charter Board to help govern the organisation. You will be expected to attend quarterly Board meetings, undertake training and do preparatory research and reading ATenant ManagementTeam member – An independent group that scrutinises and monitors services provided by New Charter.The team meets quarterly and works on scrutiny research throughout the year, usually committing approximately four hours weekly ATenant Panel member – A small group of residents who meet fortnightly to monitor resident involvement across the group and the Homes and Communities Agency consumer standards, making recommendations for improvements An IndependentTenant Solutions panel member – An independent group of residents from across multiple landlords in the Greater Manchester area who form a panel to hear complaints which have exhausted internal complaints procedures. Following a three day training programme, the panel meets quarterly for a progress meeting and for complaint hearings when required A Resident Inspector – Be involved
in a range of initiatives that act as reality checks on the quality of services provided by New Charter. Often used by both the Resident Involvement Team and by the scrutiny panel.Time commitment depends upon the project but can be up to two hours weekly An Improvement Panel Representative – Become a member of either the policies and procedures panel, customer communications group or recruitment and selection panel and meet occasionally, when needed Part of a working group – Be part of a working group to review and monitor specific service areas, such as grounds maintenance, neighbourhood plans or lettability standards. Usually meeting bi-monthly to monitor standards and make recommendations for improvements A formal Residents’ Association – Become a member of your local residents’ committee to work together to tackle issues and to improve neighbourhoods.Associations usually meet every six/eight weeks to discuss action plans and undertake projects in neighbourhoods.You can also take this a step further and look into resident management options An X-tra FactorTeam member – Be part of the team that works to produce the Tenants’ Annual Report
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Which role will you take? A backstage part , smaller part or a leading role in the performance? However you decide to get involved, your views and opinions matter to us. By listening and acting upon feedback we can ensure we deliver and improve the services you want to receive. So why don’t you choose your role in the performance? It’s an opportunity for you to have your say about your home and your neighbourhood. There is a role for everybody… our performance needs you!
How you can Get Involved?
There is a role for everybody... our performance needs you!
Fill in the role request form and pop it in the post to us. Contact our dedicated Resident Involvement Team on 0161 331 2000 for more information or email us at RITeam@newcharter.co.uk
Warning! Do not take on too many roles in the performance. We don’t want resident burnout!
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HOMES LIMITED
Choose your role... Name: ................................................................................................................................................ Address: ............................................................................................................................................ ...........................................................................................
Postcode: ...........................................
Home tel number: .......................................................................................................................... Mobile number: ............................................................................................................................... Email: .................................................................................................................................................. Please tick boxes to indicate which roles you would like to get involved in Become a Tenant Director Become a Tenant Management Team member Become an Xtra Factor Team member Become a Tenant Panel Team member Participate in a shared interest forum (Please circle/tick which shared interest forums you would like to join) Sheltered schemes. Leaseholders. Young people. Supported housing. Participate in a focus group Join or set up a neighbourhood forum Participate in training and information sessions Mystery shopper Join or set up a Residents’ Association Become a Resident Inspector Become a member of a working group (Please circle which working group you are interested in joining) Grounds Maintenance. Lettability Standards. Neighbourhood Plans Become a panel member (Please circle which panel member category/categories you are interested in joining) Policies and procedures. Customer communications group. Recruitment and selection Become a member of Independent Solutions Panel Please detach this form from the booklet, fold, re-moist, seal and pop in the post. Postage is paid – there is no need to attach a stamp.
HOMES LIMITED
Business Reply Licence Number RLSG-CRLS-BZSL
New Charter Housing Trust Group, Cavendish 249, Cavendish Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire OL6 7AT
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Benefits of getting involved
Benefits •You can make a difference to your neighbourhood •You can influence and shape the services that New Charter provides • Good networking opportunities to meet new people • An opportunity to become more empowered and develop new skills and experience
Will it cost me to Get Involved? No, not at all! HOMES LIMITED
Great Homes Great Neighbourhoods Great People
We have a dedicated budget to provide support and resources, annual resident association grants, match funding, free training courses and various relevant conferences. We ensure our services are accessible to all and can arrange transport, interpreters, crèche facilities and help with individual needs to enable you to Get Involved.
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Our key objectives
What we will do and how we will deliver it: We keep residents informed by: • Our Resident Involvement Statement and menu of involvement opportunities • Promoting involvement opportunities via our quarterly residents’ newsletter, neighbourhood newsletters and the neighbourhood and communities newsletters • Updated articles and documentation on the ‘Get Involved’ section of our website • Advertising events on notice boards in our Hubs, Neighbourhood Hubs, in our sheltered and supported housing schemes • Sending out feedback from all events • Producing and making available on request, our Tenants’ Annual Report and Impact Assessment Report
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Ensure effective involvement methods and monitoring of involvement by: • Using various involvement methods to suit the type of involvement taking place • Completing impact assessments after all involvement to monitor how residents have influenced and improved services and to monitor value for money • Using recommendations from the Tenants’ Panel • Using information and feedback from surveys and complaints • Evaluating all feedback from events • Regular reports to the Tenant Management Team • Using recommendations from the Tenant Management Team Scrutiny Panel
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Our key objectives
We provide a range of opportunities to Get Involved by: • Informal and formal ways to Get Involved • A variety of involvement activities to suit all levels of activity
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We work in partnership with customers and external agencies by: Encouraging joint working, raising awareness and setting up community links Maximising service provision across our neighbourhoods
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Our key objectives
What we will do and how we will deliver it (continued): We provide you with training and support to get involved by:
• Holding specific shared interest forums
• Internal and external training opportunities for both individuals and groups of residents
• Holding meetings at times convenient for all to Get Involved
• Conferences and seminars on current themes and good practice guidelines • Empowering residents and developing new skills and experiences • Membership of the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) We respond to the differing needs of minorities and strive to ensure services are accessible by: • Providing translators, signers and crèche facilities • Providing accessible venues and transport where required • Providing information in all formats and languages
We provide community facilities, staff resources and funding to make involvement happen by: • Providing a residents’ resource room facility which has meeting space, a telephone line, photocopier, printer, fax machine and a computer with internet access • Having a dedicated Resident Involvement Team that provides support and advice • Providing annual grant funding and match funding for recognised groups • Having an ‘incentive’ community scheme to assist in funding community activities
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Involvement opportunities at a glance
Shared Interest Forums –
Sheltered Schemes, Leaseholders,Young Persons, Supported Housing
Working Groups –
Lettability, Neighbourhood Plans, Grounds Maintenance
Focus groups Resident Panels –
Customer Communications Group, Policies and Procedures, Recruitment and Selection
Resident Associations Resident Inspectors Tenant Management Team
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Involvement opportunities at a glance g
Tenant Directors Customer sounding board Mystery shopper Training and information sessions
Neighbourhood Forums
X-tra factor team member
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Remember, we now have just one number for you to call to access all services - 0161 331 2000. This single number will be the same 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and all calls are dealt with by New Charter staff at our offices. In the evenings, at weekends and on Bank Holidays our services operate for emergencies only - dealing with emergency housing issues and emergency repairs.
English If you need help understanding this document, please call us on 0161 331 2000 and we will arrange for somebody to help you.
Polish Jeśli potrzebuje Pan/Pani pomocy w zrozumieniu tego dokumentu, prosimy o kontakt pod numerem 0161 331 2000, a my zorganizujemy kogoś do pomocy.
Portuguese Se necessitar de ajuda no que respeia à compreensão deste documento, queira por favor contactar-nos no nº. 0161 331 2000 e iremos colocar alguém à sua disposição para o ajudar
French Si vous avez besoin d’aide pour comprendre ce document, s’il vous plaît appelez-nous au 0161 331 2000 et nous nous chargerons de quelqu’un pour vous aider
Bengali
Urdu 0161 331 2000
Resource Housing Reg. No. 2111
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