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BCOP residents recently attended the latest meeting of the Residents’ Scrutiny Panel, held on 11th May at Mason Court and hosted by My Trust. The panel brings together residents and housing organisations to review services, share experiences, and help shape improvements across the housing sector.
Last year the main focus of the group was on compliments and complaints and overall Tenant Satisfaction measures (TSM's). This year they decided to compare moving in experiences across the different housing providers and reviewing housing allocations.
The meeting included discussions around the whole “moving in” experience for new tenants, including welcome information, resident handbooks, activities, communication, and how organisations gather feedback from residents. Panel members shared ideas, experiences, and examples of good practice from across the partner organisations.
The group also celebrated the appointment of its first resident Chair, marking another important step in ensuring tenants play a leading role in the scrutiny process.
Among those attending were BCOP representatives Shindo and Lynn, who both spoke positively about being involved in the panel.
Shindo, a tenant at Whitley Court, described the experience as both interesting and valuable. She explained that she enjoys meeting residents from other schemes and hearing about their experiences. She chose to join the panel because it keeps her active and helps her better understand how the housing sector works, including current housing regulations. Most importantly, she values the opportunity for tenants’ voices, ideas, and opinions to be genuinely heard through open discussion where everyone can contribute.
Lynn also described the panel as valuable and engaging, particularly the discussions around the proposed “Move On Pack” for tenants. She highlighted how important it is for tenants to be involved in conversations that affect them, noting that everyone brings different experiences which enriches the discussions. Lynn said she hopes to continue attending because she believes it is important that tenants have a voice that is listened to and taken seriously. She added that resident feedback can help bring about positive change when it is shared with senior staff who can review suggestions and implement improvements.
The Residents’ Scrutiny Panel continues to provide an important opportunity for residents to work collaboratively with housing organisations, helping ensure services remain resident-focused and continue to improve.
BCOP residents interested in representing the charity on the Residents’ Scrutiny Panel can contact Naram Nasra in the Housing Team for more information.
The panel brings together residents from a variety of local Birmingham social housing providers, which include Sir Josiah Mason Trust, Lenches Trust, Solihull Care, Yardley Great Trust and Sherborne Parish Lands Charity as well as BCOP. Scrutiny is simply a way to allow residents and staff to work together to review services. The group take an in-depth look to get a better understanding of how services are being delivered and what it’s like to be on the receiving end.