the guide for housing liaison boards in birmingham · hlbs and provide a set of handy reminders •...

The Guide for

Housing Liaison Boardsin Birmingham

The Guide is published with thanks to,and acknowledgement of, the manyvolunteer HLB members who acted asproof-readers; to Tenant Steering Groupmembers Joan Goodwin, Jim Nicholl,Derrick Novell, Eric Shipton, JohnSpooner and Stan Andrews who helpeddraft it; to the elected members andofficers of Birmingham City Councilincluding Cllr John Cotton, Fiona Hughes,Matt Wilkinson, Andy Sheppard andYvonne Wager who supported itsproduction; and to Paul Slatter ofChamberlain Forum who put it together.

The Guide for Housing Liaison Boards in Birmingham

Our Housing LiaisonBoards have been inexistence for over twentyyears across the city, so itgives me great pleasureto introduce the first everguide to HLBs. I hopethis guide will encourage

more tenants to get actively involvedlocally. You will see throughout the guidethat tenants can, and do, influencedecisions and make a difference workingtogether in partnership with BirminghamCity Council, its Housing Officers andContractors. Our new recognised kitemarkendorsed by Birmingham City Councilgives us their full support also.

My grateful thanks to all who have workedwith us on the guide especially themembers of the Tenants Steering Groupof City HLB, Paul Slatter fromChamberlain Forum for his expertise andguidance, and Fiona Hughes and otherHousing Officers.

Welcome to the HLB Guide

by Joan Goodwin – Chair, Birmingham City HLB

by Councillor John Cotton –Birmingham City Council, CabinetMember for NeighbourhoodManagement & Homes

Meeting Birmingham’shousing challenge andensuring that peoplehave affordable, decenthomes, is an importantpart of the drive to builda fairer city for us all. Buthomes are much more

than just a matter of bricks and mortar. It’sabout more than just a roof. People wantto live in strong communities and havethe chance to shape the decisions abouttheir neighbourhood.

Housing Liaison Boards have played avital role in giving tenants a voice inneighbourhoods across the city. With thedevolution of tenant engagement andlocal consultation to the City’s district andward committees we have a greatopportunity to give even more influenceto local people.

This guide is designed to help HLBs, andneighbourhoods that want to set up newHLBs, with this vital work. My colleaguesand I look forward to continue to work inpartnership with HLBs to deliver betterhomes and stronger communities for all.

The aim of this guide is to help serviceusers improve council housing inpartnership with Birmingham City Councilthrough strong and active Housing LiaisonBoards (HLBs). It should be useful to HLBmembers and to all council tenants andleaseholders who want to know moreabout HLBs and may want to join theirlocal HLB. It should also be of use to:local housing teams; councillors andcouncil staff; people who work for otherorganisations which work with HLBs; andto any Birmingham resident who wants tofind out more.

The Guide is split into 3 parts:

1. Understanding HLBs - looks at whatHLBs are for; how they work; who runsthem and how they are organised.

2. What HLBs Can Do - covers the partHLBs play in improving, shaping andcoregulating Council housing services;HLB projects; estate assessmentwalkabouts; communications, includingHLB websites; representation; and CityHLB. City HLB is the body made up byrepresentatives of HLBs from acrossBirmingham.

3. Getting Better All the Time deals withquality; legal and financial issues; theHLB Kitemark; good conduct; and howto get involved in your HLB.

Each part sets out to:

• describe briefly what is expected ofHLBs and provide a set of handyreminders

• highlight what HLBs can achieve, aboveand beyond the minimum, and tosuggest ways of making HLBs evenbetter.

The Guide is not intended to replaceexisting rules and policies relating toHLBs, but to explain how they work in practice. At the end of the Guide is a section with links to more information.These links are also online – along with a copy of this guide – at the City HLB website:www.birmingham.gov.uk/getinvolved

Introduction

Part 1:Understanding HLBs

Housing Liaison Boards are made up ofvolunteers. They are elected by counciltenants and leaseholders to representthem and to help improve their part ofBirmingham. This part of the Guide looksat what an HLB is, who the members are,how an HLB works in practice and givesan example of what the Agenda looks likeat an HLB meeting. This part also explainsthe process by which an HLB comes to berecognised by Birmingham City Counciland City HLB.

1.1 What is a Housing Liaison Board?A Housing Liaison Board (HLB) is a groupof volunteers who monitor and improveCouncil housing services in their area.HLB members include council tenants andleaseholders; other local residents andcouncillors; and housing staff. The HLB isa non-party political body which is led bypeople who use Council housing services(tenants and leaseholders are sometimescalled housing service users). Its job is tomake sure service users views shapeimprovements in council housing servicesand in the wider neighbourhood. No oneis paid to be a member of an HLB.Members use their position to benefit thewider community, not their own narrow,personal interest.

There are local HLBs covering most partsof Birmingham where there is councilhousing. There is a City HLB which bringstogether representatives from each of thelocal HLBs. You can get in touch with CityHLB and check whether there is a localHLB covering where you live:

• on the City HLB website atwww.birmingham.gov.uk/getinvolved

• at your local housing office (addressesare given under Further Information atthe end of the Guide).

As well as local HLBs, eight ofBirmingham’s ten districts have aSheltered HLB for people living insheltered housing. There is a city-wideSheltered HLB and a Leaseholders LiaisonBoard which covers leaseholders fromacross the city. Details of these are on thewebsite and available via local housingoffices.

To be recognised as an HLB, a group mustmeet the standards set out in this guideand be accepted as an HLB by City HLBand Birmingham City Council. Allrecognised HLBs must have a clear set ofaims which have been agreed by itsmembers. These aims should be includedin the HLBs constitution and reported onin the HLBs annual report. You can findthe constitution; the annual report; detailsof meetings; and, contact information onyour local HLB website which you can findby clicking on the map on City HLB’s siteat www.birmingham.gov.uk/getinvolved

If your area doesn’t have an HLB, thenplease talk to your local Housing Office,or contact City HLB, about setting one up.

Part 1: Understanding HLBs

Birmingham City Council aims to provideservices that are responsive to the needsand expectations of service users. Doingthis means taking account of tenants andleaseholders views in decisions on thedesign, delivery and performance ofservices so that:

1. Tenants’ views are taken into accountwhen making important decisionsabout how services will be designedand delivered

2. All tenants have opportunities to takepart in designing and managingservices in ways that suit them

3. As far as possible, a cross-section oftenants will be involved in decision-making. That might mean, for example,putting in extra effort to reach out toparticular groups of tenants who mayface difficulties in getting involvedotherwise.

HLBs play an important part in helping theCouncil to achieve these objectives inparticular the first objective above. Butthe Council and HLBs recognise that notevery tenant finds HLBs the easiest orbest way to be involved. To encouragetenants and leaseholders to get involvedthe Council has put together the booklet‘How tenants and leaseholders can getinvolved in their neighbourhood’.

Aside from HLBs, the ‘How tenants andleaseholders can get involved in theirneighbourhood’ booklet includes tenantsbeing able to:

• comment using repairs satisfactionslips, take part in tenant surveys andhave the chance to join the Council’sconsultation register

• train and work as a tenant inspectoralongside housing staff, to become ablock champion or to take part in focusgroups on particular issues

• join a local residents’ association orneighbourhood forum (the Councilprovides grants to some of thesebodies, but they are not seen, orrecognised, as tenants voices in thesame way as HLBs are)

• take steps to set up a Tenant ManagedOrganisation – which enables tenantsto take on the management of housingin an area on behalf of the Council.

HLBs are not undermined by these, orother, alternative ways in which theCouncil involves tenants and leaseholders.The Council has said that nothing it doesto involve tenants should be seen asdetracting from the importance it attachesto local HLBs.

Guidance: HLBs and the Council’s 'How to involvetenants and residents in their neighbourhoods'

1.2 How does a housing liaison boardwork?HLBs meet regularly, between 6 and 10times a year (usually each month except inAugust and December). They publish aschedule of future meeting dates andtimes. This is available on their websiteand from the local housing office. Allmembers of an HLB can attend allmeetings. All the business of the HLB isconsidered at the meeting. HLBs do notform sub-groups or committees to dealwith specific issues. Anyone can attend anHLB meeting as an observer, but youshould give the Chair reasonable notice thatyou want to attend. In exceptionalcircumstances, the Chair can ask observersto leave the meeting, for example if the HLBneeds to discuss information which isconfidential.

HLBs are supported by staff from the localhousing office. This means that a councilofficer – often a Tenant ParticipationOfficer – may: arrange the venue andrefreshments at HLB meetings; take themeeting notes; and circulate agendas anddraft meeting notes to members. Theagenda at meetings is agreed by the Chairand Place Manager (who replaced LocalHousing Managers following a management

review in July 2014). The Place Manager,and other members of the local housingteam, may also come to HLB meetings.

The typical agenda (list of things to bediscussed) at an HLB meeting is shown onthe next page. The agenda for a meeting ispublished on the HLB website andcirculated to members before the meeting.The draft minutes (notes of what happenedat the meeting) are circulated to membersbefore the next meeting. Meeting notes,however, are not published on the websiteuntil after they have been agreed bymembers as an accurate record of themeeting.

HLBs have a clear set of rules in theirConstitution, Code of Conduct and otherpolicies they may have agreed. Theseshould be in Plain English and they will havebeen agreed by the members. They set outhow residents can complain if they think therules have not been applied; howcomplaints will be dealt with; and theprocess for dealing with, and reporting theoutcome of, any complaints along withdetails of the appeals process. The HLB’srules including how it handles complaintsshould be available for you to read on itswebsite and at the local housing office.

Meetings play a key role in what HLBs do.An HLB agenda will usually look like this:

Attendance and Apologies – who is at themeeting and who has been unable toattend. Members should give apologies ifthey cannot attend. If a member missesthree meetings in a row without givingany apologies, then they may be removedfrom membership.

Guest Speaker(s) – HLBs may inviteanyone to speak at their meeting. TheChair decides where they will be heard onthe agenda. They are often invited tospeak before the main business part ofthe meeting.

Notes of the Last Meeting – HLBmembers agree the draft notes of theprevious meeting with any amendments.The agreed meeting note can then bepublished on the HLB website as a formalrecord of the meeting.

Matters Arising – Members discussprogress on any action points that wereagreed at the last meeting but which arenot covered elsewhere on the agenda. (Itis good practice to highlight action pointson the draft meeting notes describing theaction to be taken and the name of theperson, or people, the meeting expects totake the action).

Chair’s Report – the Chair reports on whathas happened since the last HLB meetingand any decisions, communications oractions they have taken on behalf of theHLB. They ask other members to helpgive the report if, for example, thosemembers deputised for them at anothermeeting. Members can question, discussand agree any further actions needed as aresult.

Housing Reports – officers andcontractors for the City Council givereports on the plans and performance ofthe housing service including reports onrepairs, the Tenant Quality Promise (TQP),and estate services. Members canquestion, discuss and agree further actionto be taken as a result.

Report from City HLB – the member whorepresented the HLB at the last City HLBmeeting gives a report. Members canquestion, discuss and agree any furtheractions needed as a result.

HLB Projects – The HLB takes reports onprogress on projects and discusses andagrees any new projects as necessary (seepage 24).

Estate Walkabouts – The HLB takesreports on estate walkabouts anddiscusses and agrees future walkabouts asnecessary (see page 25).

Any Other Business (AOB) – Memberscan raise anything relevant to the HLB butwhich has not otherwise been noted ordiscussed. HLB meetings are not the bestplaces to raise personal and specifichousing problems unless they highlight ageneral point. It is good practice ifmembers inform the Chair before themeeting that they have other business toraise.

Guidance: example of the Agenda at an HLB Meeting

1.3 Who runs a Housing Liaison Board?An HLB must have at least six, and usuallyno more than 20, members. The HLBshould list its members and their contactdetails (which may be care of the localHousing Office) on its website. At leastthree-quarters of members of an HLBmust be tenants, leaseholders or theirhousehold members over the age of 16.The Chair and Vice Chair of an HLB –elected by the members – must betenants or leaseholders (service users).But, remember, anyone – a localcouncillor or resident – can attend HLBmeetings as a non-voting observer.

The membership can also include peoplewho are not service users. Other peoplewho can join an HLB as members are:

• anyone else over the age of 16 wholives in the area covered by it

• a local councillor for a ward includingpart of the area covered by the HLB.

But the 75% rule makes these places quitelimited, for example:

• if the HLB has 6 members, then there isat most one member place on theBoard for another resident or councillor

• if the HLB has 20 members, then thereare at most five member places forother residents or councillors.

It can be useful to include people who arenot service users as members of an HLB if,for example, they:

• have specialist knowledge orexperience eg as a councillor or a localbusinessperson, or in housingmanagement or some other relevantway

• represent a local community withmembers who include council housingservice users eg as a representative of aresidents association, youth group,faith group or other community groupin the area.

Members who are not tenants orleaseholders can vote on general mattersincluding on the HLB Projects budget, butthey cannot vote on things which are todo with Council housing services and onlyaffect tenants and leaseholders.

A Housing Liaison Board is a group ofvolunteers. The local housing team coverstheir expenses and helps them organisemeetings; but no one is paid to be amember of an HLB. The main reason mostpeople join is that they want to see thingsimprove in the area around where theylive. The main reason people stayinvolved is because they enjoy being partof a group with other residents andgetting things done by working as aneffective team. Teamwork matters.Enabling teamwork is everyone’sresponsibility.

Some personal habits and practiceswhich make teamwork easier:

Be constructive – members don’t alwaysagree: debate and discussion are good.You can help keep things constructive bybeing clear, direct and honest when youspeak; by respecting the Chair; and byrespecting the feelings of other members.Try not to react defensively even ifsomeone seems critical.

Active listening – members sometimeshave difficult things to explain to eachother. You can help by thinking aboutwhat you are hearing and giving whoeveris speaking signs that you are listeningcarefully. Allow people to finish the pointthey are making and allow the Chair torun the meeting fairly.

Be reliable – members can’t always doeverything they say they will. If you can’tdo something, then the best thing is to bestraight and tell the team you can’t. Youcan help others by thanking them whenthey do a good job and making it OK forpeople to say when they haven’t beenable to.

Come prepared – members should comeprepared for meetings and able to takepart in them by listening and speakingwhen needed. Don’t just sit passively andwait for things to happen. If you don’tunderstand what’s going on, ask aquestion. The chances are you won’t bethe only one who would like anexplanation.

Be reasonable – members should bewilling and able to hear views they don’tagree with, or don’t yet understand. Listenbefore you make up your mind. If youdon’t like a decision, then say so – butonce it’s made, move on. Don’t leave themeeting complaining and moaning if youcan help it.

Share resources – members shareinformation, know-how and their time.They speak up when they think they havesomething to offer. You can help byresponding to requests for help andtaking the initiative in supporting otherteam members.

Some things HLBs can do as groups towork better:

Be social. A team is a group that plays tothe strengths of its members. HLB socialevents can help members find out abouteach others’ strengths and, so, help thegroup work better as a team.

Share the work. Don’t let the Chair do allthe work: share jobs out. The Chairdoesn’t necessarily have to chair everymeeting or represent the HLB at everyevent.

It’s the job of all HLB members to helpothers work together as a team. HLBswhose members work together as a teamachieve more than those that don’t.

Guidance: Working as a Team

1.4 How is a Housing Liaison Boardelected and organised?HLBs members are elected every twoyears at a meeting which is advertised toresidents in the area the HLB covers –including by a notice on the HLB’swebsite. The notice of this meeting (whichHLBs often call the biennial meeting)includes:

• the agenda for the meeting

• information about how people can benominated for election to the HLB(HLBs can set their own rules aboutthis)

• and, unless the HLB is newly set up, thenotes of the last meeting at which suchelections took place (usually two yearspreviously).

The annual report of the HLB (or a reportfrom the Chair on progress made by theHLB) should either be included with thenotice or made available at the meeting.The meeting is usually chaired by thePlace Manager.

At the first HLB meeting after the‘biennial’ meeting, the members elect aChair and Vice Chair. All members canvote in this election. In the same way, theHLB decides who will represent it at CityHLB. This is often, but not necessarily, theChair. HLBs can appoint other officers ifthe members agree, eg an HLB couldappoint a member to be responsible forlooking after its website.

Anyone can come to an HLB meeting asan observer as long as they give the Chairreasonable notice that they want toattend. All HLBs must organise at leastone public meeting a year which isadvertised to everyone in its area throughthe website and at the local housingoffice. The HLB makes its annual report tothis meeting.

An HLB can co-opt members betweenelections as long as it sticks to the limitson: the overall size of the Board; and theproportion of tenants and leaseholders itincludes. An HLB might co-opt membersto:

• be more representative of peopleacross the area and in terms of the age,gender, ethnicity, type ofaccommodation, housing tenure etc

• enable tenants and leaseholders whowant to get involved, and may alreadybe involved as block champions etc, tobecome HLB members without havingto wait up to 2 years to be elected ontothe Board

• enable the HLB to include people withparticular expertise.

Members who are co-opted, however,must stand for election at the nextbiennial meeting if they want to carry onserving as members.

The date, time and venue of HLBmeetings are advertised in advance HLBspublish a list of meetings for the yearahead. This list and the agreed meetingnotes and agendas of meetings are madepublicly available on the website and atthe local housing office.

The Place Manager and their staffparticularly the local Tenant ParticipationOfficer can support HLB meetings. Theyusually: arrange meeting rooms; take themeeting notes; and present, or introduce,reports about the plans and performanceof the housing service at HLB meetings.Housing staff can help the HLB make surethat its decisions are communicated andlead to action. Officers can, however, onlysupport – not lead – the HLB. The mainresponsibility for: taking decisions; tellingpeople about them; and chasing up on

any actions resulting from them, rests withHLB members.

Decision making at HLB meetings isusually by consensus. That means: theChair ensures sufficient discussion until acourse of action that all members aresatisfied with is agreed. Everyone has theright to be heard and all members arerespected. If voting is needed, eachmember gets one vote unless the issuebeing decided is only to do with Councilhousing services in which case onlymembers who are housing service users(tenants and leaseholders) have a vote.

In deciding the time of day and wherethey meet, HLBs take into account thatmeetings should be accessible for asmany residents as possible – includingpeople with work and care commitmentsand people with special needs.

Agendas – should be sent out in advanceif possible. They can be put on thewebsite as soon as they are drafted. Theagenda may follow the standard format(see page 7) but even so, its a good ideato go through it at the start of themeeting to check everyone understandsit. The Chair can let members suggest anychanges to the order of items at the startof the meeting.

Attendance and apologies – considerusing a sign-in sheet with a space forpeople to update their contact details andfor people to give apologies on behalf ofothers. Sign-in sheets enable you to getcontact details of people who attend asobservers. Members can use them toupdate their email and phone numbers.

Chairing – during the meeting the Chairkeeps order and makes sure that thebusiness is kept on track. It is hard to chaira meeting and be one of the mainspeakers. The person who is elected asthe Chair of the HLB (who represents itbetween meetings and presents theChairs report etc) does not necessarilyhave to chair every (or any) meeting.

Matters Arising – is for checking offactions agreed at the last meeting(including matters arising from theprevious one) which do not need furtherdiscussion and, therefore, do not featureas items on the agenda. A group that isregularly spending a long time on mattersarising, should take time to think morecarefully about the way it puts togetherthe agenda.

Minutes – are called minutes becausethey are short. They should accuratelyrecord the important details of themeeting: who was there and who gaveapologies; what decisions were made;

what actions were decided on and whowill be responsible for doing them.Descriptive detail about who said whatoften leads to pointless arguments aboutaccuracy.

Timings – consider putting timings on theagenda showing how long you think eachitem might take. You don’t have to stick tothem rigidly, but it can focus minds.

Informal Time – HLB meetings haveformal business to go through, but thatdoesn’t mean you can’t have some spaceon the agenda for less formal things too:networking (perhaps during a short teabreak); 10 minutes for people to raiseurgent local issues. Even if they are thingsthe HLB can’t directly do anything about itcan still be useful. HLB members andmembers of the housing team who arepresent may be able to signpost serviceusers to other sources of help.

Meeting in Public – occasionally items onHLB agendas need to be dealt with inprivate. As a rule, however, anyone wholives in the area should be welcome. Ifyou’re worried about space, you can askpeople to let the Chair know in advancethat they want to attend. Make meetingswelcoming for members and non-members alike you can let non-membersspeak (they can’t vote). A meeting may bethe first time a potential new membercomes across an HLB – why miss theopportunity to make a good impression?

Public Meetings – usually the annualmeeting at which the HLB presents itsreport. But you can organise further publicmeetings during the year to keep tenantsinformed and you can, of course, organisesocial meetings as well as businessmeetings.

Guidance: Ideas for HLB Meetings

1.5 Recognising and supporting HLBsAny group of residents can set up, or join,an association to represent their interestsor to help them take action to improvethem. In Birmingham, there are thousandsof such groups: residents’ associations,self-help groups, youth clubs, churchgroups, political and campaigning bodies,charities, unions and professional clubs. Inone way, Housing Liaison Boards are justlike any other community group thatbelongs to its members – council tenantsand leaseholders. HLBs, however, alsohave a special set of rights andresponsibilities outlined in the next part ofthis guide – What HLBs Can Do.

To get these rights and responsibilities, anHLB has to show it meets the standard setfor HLBs by the City Housing LiaisonBoard (City HLB) and Birmingham CityCouncil. After City HLB and the Councilhave checked it meets this standard, itbecomes the sole recognised HLB for itsarea. The Council can support it withtraining, information, funding and stafftime. This support from the Council aimsto help an HLB:

• play a part in the formal co-regulationof Birmingham City Council as a sociallandlord

• work with others to make theneighbourhood a better place to liveincluding by using a budget to fundsmall projects in the area

• act as the recognised forum throughwhich all tenants and leaseholders in anarea are able to shape servicedelivery – for example through estatewalkabouts

• influence and inform the decisionsmade by the Council

• ensure that the tenants andleaseholders in its area are representedat City HLB and can be supported by itwhen they need.

There can only ever be one HLB coveringa given area. HLBs can vary in size: somecover a ward, some part of a ward, somean area larger than a ward – but theycannot overlap. The chart on the nextpage shows the stages in setting up anHLB. It only applies in areas which are notcurrently covered by a recognised HLB.

Diagram: setting up an HLB follows this process

Tenants and leaseholders meet anddecide they want to consider forming anHLB for their area. They can form ashadow HLB and meet for severalmonths to sort out the details.

They agree a constitution at a publicmeeting called for the purpose. ThePlace Manager takes copies and sends acopy of the constitution and the minutesof the meeting to City HLB.

Once an HLB has been recognised itcan use the HLB Kitemark and it cansend a representative to be part of CityHLB.

The new HLB elects a chair; agreesdates for regular meetings; updateswebsite with help from the localHousing Team.

The local Tenant Participation Officercan help tenants do this by providingmeeting rooms, introducing them toother active residents and putting themin touch with neighbouring HLBs.

City HLB has a standard constitutionwhich groups that want to berecognised as an HLB can use. This isavailable from the City HLB website.

Once City HLB has checked the newHLB, the Place Manager can arrange thesupport that the Council is committedto providing to recognised HLBsincluding: use of meeting rooms,information, reports, project fundingand admin support if required.

City HLB and the Council look at papersprovided, check them against the HLBStandard, look at any advice from thePlace Manager and either approves theapplication or asks the group to makechanges.

HLBs support the City HLB by sendingrepresentatives to meetings who mayalso take part in Service ImprovementGroups set up by City HLB.

City HLB supports HLBs with guidance,access to a website and can take upcases on their behalf if they havedisputes or issues which cannot besettled locally.

Note: City HLB and Birmingham City Council may review the award of the Kitemark to anHLB on a regular basis (or in response to complaints of serious misconduct made by localcouncillors or service users). If the review is satisfactory, then the HLB will continue to berecognised. The Council and City HLB may, however, agree a list of improvements thatneed to be made and reserve the right to suspend or withdraw the use of the Kitemark if itis necessary to de-recognise an HLB, eg if it does not have enough members to carry on.

Part 2:What can HLBs do?

HLBs can bring all sorts of tenants andother residents in an area together tomake it a better place to live. They alsohave special rights and responsibilities.This part of the Guide explains:coregulation of council housing and thepart HLBs – acting as ‘tenant panels’ –play in it; project funding; estatewalkabouts and the ways HLBs caninfluence local affairs throughcommunication, networking andpartnership working.

2.1 Coregulating council housingHousing Liaison Boards (HLBs) are takingon an important new role: helping toregulate the Council’s housing servicesand make sure they are up to standard. Alllandlords who own and manage socialhousing now have to show that thedecisions they make benefit tenants andpotential future tenants. To make sure thisis done fairly, the government has aregulator for social housing. The regulatoris the body which sets and oversees theoverall standards that social landlords arejudged against. In 2010, the governmentreviewed the system for regulating sociallandlords. As a result, they merged theTenant Services Authority (which was theregulator) with the Homes andCommunities Agency (which was the bodyresponsible for registering social landlordsand funding new social housing).

The Homes and Communities AgencyIn 2012, the Homes and CommunitiesAgency (HCA) became responsible forsetting the standards for social landlords.In March 2012, the HCA publishedconsumer standards applying to localauthorities which – like Birmingham CityCouncil – have retained council housing.‘The Regulatory Framework for SocialHousing in England’ published by the

HCA sets out four consumer standards forBirmingham City Council and other sociallandlords:

• Tenant Involvement andEmpowerment – this standard coversthe way information is provided totenants; how complaints are dealt with;opportunities for tenant involvementand empowerment; and how thelandlord responds to the diverse needsof its tenants.

• Decent Homes – the Decent Homesstandard applies to the quality ofaccommodation, repairs andmaintenance the landlord provides.

• Tenancies – this standard coversallocations, lettings and exchanges andtenancy agreements.

• The Wider Neighbourhood andCommunity – covers the way theenvironment of the estate andneighbourhood is managed; how anti-social behaviour is prevented and dealtwith; and how the landlord co-operates with others to improve theprospects for the area as a whole.

“Co-Regulation”Although the Homes and CommunitiesAgency (HCA) sets consumer standards,the government has given the job ofmaking sure that landlords live up to themto tenants and landlords working togetherthrough what it calls coregulation. This isbecause the government wants landlordsto be accountable to their tenants, not tobodies set up by central government.

The HCA can still intervene – but onlywhere the City Council fails to meet aconsumer standard and causes, or riskscausing, serious detriment to tenants or

Part 2: What can HLBs do?

potential tenants. ‘Serious detriment’could mean physical harm, financial lossor some other serious damage or riskcaused to tenants or potential tenants. Indeciding whether to take action, the HCAcan take into account information fromHousing Liaison Boards, other recognisedbodies representing tenants andresidents, local councillors and MPs, theHousing Ombudsman, the Health andSafety Executive and the fire and rescueauthority (West Midlands Fire & RescueService).

HLBs Role in CoregulationBeing part of coregulating councilhousing means HLBs help the Council tocheck how well it measures up to the fourconsumer standards:

• Tenant involvement and empowerment

• Providing decent qualityaccommodation and repairs

• Managing tenancies in a fair andefficient way

• Running the housing service so as tocontribute to the well-being of thewider neighbourhood and community.

Coregulation doesn’t mean HLBs on theirown taking on the task of checking uphow the Council does. Their job is to helpthe Council make sure things are up toscratch. Some aspects of the Council’sservices are scrutinised by HLBs throughCity HLB. Some may be done at Districtlevel. Some is done directly by HLBs atthe local level. The Council and City HLBaim to help to make sure that HLBs havethe skills, confidence, information andsupport they need to do a good job ofcoregulating housing services inpartnership with the Council.

The Consumer StandardsThe next two pages set out in more detailwhat is covered by the four consumerstandards that HLBs help to make sure theCouncil maintains.

Tenant involvement and empowerment –HLBs (working through City HLB and atDistrict level as well as at local level)should help to check and review:

• the quality of information the Councilproduces for tenants and other serviceusers and how it communicates withthem

• the clarity and effectiveness of theCouncil’s complaints process

• the opportunities the Council makes fortenants to be involved in:

o setting priorities and policies

o decisions about how housingservices are delivered (including thesetting of service standards)

o scrutinising performance againststandards

• opportunities the Council provides fortenants to get directly involved inmanaging their homes, repair andmaintenance services, andarrangements for tenants to be able toundertake repairs themselves

• whether, and how, the Councilunderstands and responds to thediverse needs of tenants including:

o treating all tenants with fairness andrespect

o showing they understand thedifferent needs of tenants, includingtenants with extra support needs.

Providing decent quality accommodationand repairs – HLBs (acting as above) willhelp the Council to check and review:

• whether council homes meet theDecent Homes standard (and anyhigher standards that apply dependingon when they were built etc.) and thatthey are maintained so they continue tomeet standards

• the responsiveness and cost-effectiveness of repairs andmaintenance services provided by andpaid for by the Council.

Managing tenancies in a fair andefficient – way HLBs will help (as above)check and review:

• the fairness, efficiency and transparencyof allocations, exchange and lettingsprocesses taking into account housingneed and the choices of tenants andpotential tenants so as to check theCouncil:

o makes the best use of availablehousing

o delivers on its strategic housingfunction and helps to create moresustainable communities

• the clarity of applications, decision-making and appeals processes

• whether tenants are able to exchangetheir tenancy including by usinginternet-based exchange services

• tenancy agreements to see that theymeet legal requirements and that theyare compatible with: the purpose of theaccommodation; the needs ofindividual households; the sustainabilityof the wider community; and theefficient use of the Council’s housingstock.

Running the Housing Service so as tocontribute to the well-being of the widerneighbourhood and community – HLBs(as above) will help to check and review:

• the contribution the Council is makingto wider neighbourhood managementin terms of:

o its direct responsibilities, eg forstreet cleanliness and communitysafety

o whether the Housing Service isworking effectively in partnershipwith tenants, other social landlords,other parts of the City Council andother public agencies, like thepolice, to look after theneighbourhood as a whole in ajoined-up way

o whether the Council is working wellwith relevant partners to helppromote social, environmental andeconomic wellbeing in the areaswhere it owns properties

• whether the Council is working inpartnership with other agencies toprevent and tackle anti-social behaviourin the neighbourhoods where they ownhomes.

A lot of information which is provided toHLBs by the City Council is about theresources used to provide the housingservice (inputs) and the activities carriedout as part of the service (outputs). HLBmembers, however, are more interested inthe difference that has been made topeople and places (the outcomes).

As HLBs take on more of a role incoregulating the council housing servicein partnership with the Council, theamount of information about inputs andoutputs (costs and performance measures)is likely to increase. HLB members needways of questioning this information tomake sense of it. One way is to askquestions:

How? How things are done can makesuch a difference to the impact achievedthat organisations often have agreed rulesdictating the details of how they will bedone. These sets of rules are calledpolicies. For example, an allocationspolicy doesn’t determine how manypeople will be given a tenancy, but it doesdescribe how they will be chosen.Organisations don’t always have the rightpolicies or follow the ones they have.Asking how outputs have been achievedis a useful question.

Where? Where activities take place canmake a big difference to the impact theyhave. Sometimes, things need to beconcentrated to gain best effect andsometimes they need to be spreadaround. So, for example, focusingplanned investment in oneneighbourhood or district might enablemore to be achieved than pepper-pottingthe work across the whole city. At thesame time, the decision to focus work inone area might lead to tenants in others

either being treated unfairly or feelingthey have been treated unfairly. People’sfeelings can count as much as thetechnical statistics that come with a planor a report. Where something happens isimportant for both technical and humanand social reasons.

Who? Who has been involved in planningand delivering a service can make adifference to what is achieved. Whobenefits makes a difference too. Forexample: involving tenants, young peopleand the police in action on antisocialbehaviour might make more of an impactthan the local Housing Team acting on itsown. An HLB which has a wide network oftenants and relates well to the menu ofopportunities for tenant involvement islikely to add more value have moreimpact than one which is not in touch withmost tenants. ‘Who was involved’ and‘Who benefits’ are two key questions toask about any activity.

When? When activities take place has abearing on how useful they are. Forexample: an HLB which holds sixmeetings in a year at regular intervals andat times which tenants find mostconvenient might achieve more than onewhich holds ten meetings all grouped inthe final quarter of the year and at timesof day that prevent some tenants takingpart.

Why? Asking why something was done oris being planned is a very powerfulquestion. People probably don’t ask‘Why’ enough perhaps because wereafraid of looking childish. It can take a bitof confidence to ask Why, but the answeris very often worth the trouble; it can bevery revealing.

Guidance: Questioning information

Whether? There are usually a number ofways of achieving a similar result. Tryasking whether there were/arealternatives; what they involved; andwhether what was done was the best useof resources and the best way of doingthe job?

What else? Nearly everything we do hasan impact beyond that which we intend.For example: when a tenant gets adviceon rent arrears, they might also needadvice on benefits and a range of otherissues. Skilled workers and managersdon’t just do the job in hand, they look atwhat else needs doing, or could be done,at the same time.

Asking these questions – How? Where?Who? When? Why? Whether there werealternatives? and What else happened orneeds to happen? – can help to revealmuch more from any piece of information,statement or statistic.

A Learning CycleAnother set of questions that is useful tothink about when you want to learn how,and whether, something has worked andwhat lessons are to be learnt is:

• What? Find out as precisely andthoroughly as you can what happened.

• Why? Reflect on the motives andintentions behind what happened.

• So What? Work out how whathappened fits in with what else is goingon and what else needs doing?

• Now What? Focus on what are the nextsteps how do we apply what we havelearnt from the experience?

This set of questions asked in the orderabove is the basis of a model of howpeople and groups learn called theLearning Cycle. It has been observed thatorganisations are often very good atasking themselves the What and So Whatquestions. And often very bad at askingWhy and Now What questions. AskingWhat; Why; So What; and Now What inthat order, can help organisations toquestion the way they do things; to learnfrom experience; and to find newapproaches that work better.

2.2 HLBs as Tenant PanelsOnce an HLB receives its kitemark fromCity HLB and the Council, it is recognisedas a tenant panel for the purposes ofcoregulation. Government has not set outstrict rules that dictate how tenant panelsshould work. It has said that tenants andlandlord should decide what works bestlocally. The government asked nationalbodies representing tenants to come upwith guidance for tenant panels. This waspublished as ‘Tenant Panels: Options forAccountability’ in 2012 with the supportof the government.

The guidance gives a set of principleswhich HLBs and similar bodies in otherparts of the country should work to. Theysuggest that as well as having theinformation and skills to play a part incoregulating the Councils performancethe standards set by the Homes andCommunities Agency, tenant panelsshould:

• exercise and develop tenant leadership

• ensure fairness and access for all

• develop and use effective structuresand adequate support.

For the most part, the guidance suggeststhings which HLBs are already able toshow they do. In some places, however,HLBs may need to be strengthened andsupported to play their role incoregulation as effective tenant panels.

HLBs and Tenant LeadershipThe guidance says that tenant panels caninclude people who are not the Council’shousing service users (that is, tenants andleaseholders). They can as HLBs do –include other residents. The guidance,however, makes it clear that everyoneinvolved in a tenant panel mustunderstand their role, purpose andresponsibility and their accountability totenants as a whole. The guidancesuggests HLBs should:

• think independently and be able tochallenge the landlord effectively

• assess and develop the skills,confidence and know-how of theirmembers

• be able and willing to engage with, andlearn from, the tenants they representand from good practice developedelsewhere.

HLBs, Access and FairnessThe guidance says that tenant panelsinvolved in coregulation should be runaccording to equality and diversityprinciples. HLBs should be open to alltenants and work in accordance withaccepted standards in fairness andconduct. In particular, HLBs should:

• seek to understand and reflect thediverse views of all tenants and serviceusers

• be accessible to all tenants so that theycan raise issues through them and jointhem as members

• have an agreed Code of Conductwhich is used and enforced.

HLB Structures and SupportAccording to the guidance, HLBs – astenant panels – must be properlystructured and resourced to be able tocarry out their work. That means HLBsshould:

• Have clearly defined and agreedstructures in terms of constitution, rulesand policies

• Review the structures and theirperformance to see that they areworking effectively

• Be supported with sufficient money,time and expertise to be able to do thework expected of them.

Birmingham City Council and City HLBproduced, in 2014, an agreement listingthe support that HLBs need to workproperly as tenant panels for coregulation.HLBs and local housing teams will be ableto refer to the agreement to make surethat HLBs are supported well across thecity.

2.3 Projects And CampaignsProjects and campaigns are ways in whichHLBs work with others to make theneighbourhood a better place to live.When HLBs talk about ‘projects’ they arereferring to the things they fund usingbudgets provided by the Council. Theseprojects are usually small-scaleenvironmental improvements and work toimprove community safety:

• concrete bollards to preventinconsiderate parking

• trip rails or railings around areas ofplanting or communal space

• developing a patch of land as acommunity garden or food-growingsite

• improvements to streetlighting andCCTV cameras

• security fencing and alley gating

• providing dropped kerbs

• providing litter bins and recycling bins

HLBs can also support communityprojects like work with local youngpeople. Anyone can suggest projects forconsideration by HLBs, but the fundingavailable is limited. Decisions about how itis used are made by HLB members.

HLBs can take up campaigns over issueswhich affect their members. These mightbe about informing tenants of changes inpolicy; helping the Council to consult andinvolve tenants; or they could be aimed atimproving services or changing policies.HLBs can work together to campaign forchanges in policies or services deliveredby the Council. They can campaign forimprovements from other local publicservices or about issues affecting tenantsthat are decided by the Government, forexample the reform of welfare benefits.

To be effective, HLBs manage projectsand campaigns in an orderly way. Thatincludes having a systematic approach,recording: aims and objectives; who isresponsible for them; allocations offunding and time and actual spending onthem; and progress over time. Thisapplies to any activities the HLB organisesprojects, consultation events, informationcampaigns or campaigns to changepolicies or the way services are delivered.

2.4 Estate Walkabouts and AssessmentsEstate walkabouts are an important way inwhich HLBs work with the local HousingTeam to improve local conditions. Anestate walkabout is where housing staff,HLB members and others come togetheron a joint inspection of theneighbourhood to see what needs doingor improving. Other people involved inwalkabouts can include: other tenants andresidents as well as representatives ofCouncil contractors and departments, thepolice and other public services.

Walkabouts are intended to get to get tothe bottom of problems in an area – theydepend for their success on the localknowledge which residents can provide.Working with housing staff, tenants canidentify important issues and agreeactions and priorities. They can coverthings like: grass cutting and communalareas; recycling and cleaning; car parkingand traffic; security and emergency safety;or antisocial behaviour. HLB members canraise the issues they want.

Walkabouts should be conductedregularly, eg each month. They each cover

an area which the Council defines as anestate. Estates aren’t all the same size andthey can have varying proportions ofcouncil to non-council properties. SomeHLBs cover just one estate others maycover several. The results of pastwalkabouts and a schedule for ones infuture is included as an item for discussionat each HLB meeting. HLBs work with thelocal housing team to plan walkaboutsand draw their attention to areas whichneed it. HLBs also review the results ofwalkabouts and chase up what action hastaken place as a result.

Every six months, the estate walkaboutdoubles as a more formal assessment.During an estate assessment, the groupdoes a walkabout and scores the standardof the local neighbourhood and itsservices. These scores are published andform part of the assessment of how wellthe Council is doing in its role as landlord.Having HLB members take part inwalkabouts and assessments and listeningto what they have to say about the estateis part of the coregulation of the Councilsservices.

2.5 Representation and CommunicationAs well as pushing for practicalimprovements, HLBs need ways ofrepresenting people and communicatingwith them and with others on their behalf.‘Representation’ means presenting a caseon behalf of someone else or a widergroup of people. The people who do thejob of representation are calledrepresentatives. In this sense, HLBmembers are representatives of tenantsand leaseholders.

‘Representative’, however, has two othermeanings which only apply in part toHLBs and their members:

• we say something is representative ofsomething else when it looks like it, oris in some other way ‘typical of’ a largerthing. Whilst HLB members need to bein touch with a broad range of tenantsand leaseholders in their area, theyneed not, be perfectly representative inthe sense of exactly mirroring the widerpopulation of service users.

• we call people – like councillors – whowe vote for to represent us, ‘electedrepresentatives’. HLB members areelected at a public meeting, but theyare not representatives in the sensethat councillors are.

So, HLBs and their members arerepresentative: because of what they do(put the case for tenants andleaseholders); not because of who theyare; or how many people turn up to votefor them. Being an effectiverepresentative depends on how well HLBsand their members communicate (bothlistening and speaking) with:

• tenants, leaseholders and residents inthe area

• the Council (not just Housing) andother services, such as the Police.

HLBs and their members have a numberof ways in which they can listen and speakto the service users they represent. First,and most important, is the informalconversation that they get by living in anarea and taking part in community life.But public meetings matter too – theyprovide ways for other residents to have asay. Increasingly, ‘social media’ – websites,Twitter, Facebook and bulletin boards –create opportunities for conversation too.

More than four in five (86%) of UK adultsnow use the internet. That includes 95%of people earning less than £200 perweek. Online communication websitesand social media is as important to HLBsas it is to the Council or privatebusinesses.

The website for HLBs in Birmingham is atwww.birmingham.gov.uk/getinvolved.That website belongs to City HLB which ismade up of representatives from each ofthe recognised HLBs in the city.

Each HLB website provides the following:

• a map showing the area covered by theHLB

• a calendar or list of meetings

• archive of current HLB minutes

• a contact form which enables anyoneto enquire about membership or theactivities of the HLB.

Each HLB can also use their site if theywant to:

• post news stories, pictures, video andaudio clips showing what the HLB isdoing, the projects it has funded andcampaigns it is involved in

• list links to the websites of other localgroups, other bodies representingtenants and sources of furtherinformation and advice for tenants

• pick up and display feeds from otherwebsites, Facebook pages or feedsfrom Twitter so that the site can beintegrated into other online activity bythe HLB and its members, etc

• set up forums, polls and otherinteractive content.

Some HLBs use Twitter as a way ofengaging tenants including by, forexample, having observers tweet live fromHLB meetings. If you do want to reportwhat is happening at an HLB meeting –whether you use Twitter or any other wayof telling people about it – you shouldfirst ask the Chair and the memberswhether they mind. You should alwayscheck with people before you take apicture or record video of them.

Guidance: HLB Websites and Social Media

2.6 Partnership and InfluenceHLBs represent the interests of tenantsand leaseholders through:

• tenant participation – engaging withthe Council over its policies and plansas the landlord

• working alongside place managers andwider neighbourhood management

• coregulation of the Council’s housingservices against standards set for itincluding in the Council’s TenantQuality Promise

• engaging with cabinet members,locally elected members and thestructures they have set up for thestrategic management of housing

• working with other HLBs, City HLB andthe wider tenants movement.

In each case, representing tenants andleaseholders means working with othergroups and organisations. An HLB canmeet regularly, take reports and agreeproject spending – but if no one elseknows about it, it isn’t really doing the jobof representing tenants. Influencedepends on getting to know people inother organisations. It means using thoselinks to influence decisions. HLBs need,over time, to be able to influence andwork with:

• the local housing team headed by thePlace Manager and contractors workingfor the Council

• community groups, residents’associations and neighbourhoodforums

• the police, local health services,housing associations and local schools

• City HLB, other local HLBs and othertenants groups.

One way to make a start is for HLBmembers to pool what they already know.The local housing team can help withcontact information for other groups andservices. You might decide to: make a list(or a map or directory) for the area andkeep it updated; invite observers andguest speakers from other organisationsto HLB meetings; follow people andorganisational feeds on Twitter; set uplinks to their websites from your website;and - every month or so – email a goodnews story to people (eg about a projectthe HLB has done).

2.7 City HLBCity Housing Liaison Board (City HLB) is aconsultative body between tenants andleaseholders; and councillors and Councilofficers. It exists to influence and advisethe Council’s decision making relating toissues affecting tenants and leaseholders.It can take up cases which have not beenresolved locally by an HLB working withthe local Housing Team. It can help HLBsjointly to co-regulate Council services.City HLB keeps the HLB Standard up-to-date and uses it in advising the Councilwhether an HLB should be recognisedand supported. Meetings of City HLB areheld in public usually at the CouncilHouse in Victoria Square.

Members of City HLB are:

• one representative from eachrecognised HLB;

• a representative of another recognisedgroup of tenants and residents in thearea, where there is no HLB;

• a representative from each TenantManaged Organisation with more than500 Council properties;

• one councillor from each political partywith seats on the Council (in addition toany councillors who may also be HLBrepresentatives).

Members are elected, or nominated,annually by their HLBs. They elect a CityHLB Chair and Vice Chair every 2 years.

City HLB can set up and agree the termsof reference for sub-groups called ServiceImprovement Groups. These are made upof HLB members (not necessarily City HLBreps), councillors and anyone else CityHLB members decide to include. ServiceImprovement Groups look into particularissues agreed by City HLB and reportback to City HLB every four months. Thechairs of the Service ImprovementGroups – along with the City HLB Chairand Vice Chair – form an AgendaCommittee. The Agenda Committeedecides on the agenda at City HLBmeetings. City HLB reviews the ServiceImprovement Groups it needs each year.

Part 3:Getting better all the time

HLBs are taking on important new jobs:housing coregulation; new links to districtswith devolved power over tenantengagement. And 2015 will see thelaunch of a kitemark which City HLB andBirmingham City Council will award toHLBs to show they meet the standardsexpected of them. That includes meetinglegal requirements, of course, but it alsomeans being committed to becomingeven more accountable to service usersand to improving the quality andeffectiveness with which HLBs work. BothCity HLB and Birmingham City Councilprovide support for HLBs and HLBmembers to do the job and to get evenbetter at it.

3.1 Accountability, Quality, Training andDevelopmentHLBs belong to their members andpeople who might want to join asmembers in future. That means they are,first and foremost, accountable to tenantsand leaseholders not councillors; notcouncil officers; not City HLB.

In practice, HLBs are accountable totenants and leaseholders by:

• Making sure that any service user in thearea can get in touch with the HLB; andthat they can find out what the HLB isdoing. Setting up an HLB website andkeeping it updated with contactinformation, meeting dates andmeeting notes is an important way ofdoing this.

• Enabling any resident to attend HLBmeetings as an observer; co-optingmembers on to the HLB who areenthusiastic and who help the HLB tobe more broadly representative oftenants and leaseholders in the area.

• Holding an annual meeting at whichthey give a report on what the HLB hasdone during the year; and, every otheryear, enabling tenants and leaseholdersto be nominated, and elected, to serveas HLB members.

Quality means being able to do the jobthat is intended. For HLBs, it means doingthe things set out in this guide. In theirannual reports, HLBs review how well theyhave done; and how they could do evenbetter. That includes reviewing the helpHLB members may need as individualsand as a team. The Council can fundthings that help HLBs improve the waythey work. This includes paying for thingslike training courses for HLB chairs andsupport for HLBs to organise meetingsand update their website etc.

City HLB represents the interests of HLBsfrom across Birmingham. Alongside localtenants and leaseholders and the Council,it has an interest in helping HLBs do well:it wants to show that HLBs are effectiveand respected. Representatives of HLBsagree standards at City HLB. Togetherwith the Council, City HLB awards akitemark to HLBs which live up to thesestandards. City HLB reviews the award ofa kitemark to an HLB every two years, ormore frequently if needed.

3.2 HLB KitemarkThe Kitemark awarded to HLBs that meetthe standards agreed by City HLB is:

The Kitemark is jointly awarded by CityHLB and Birmingham City Council. Itshows that an HLB is recognised:

• as a member of City HLB entitled tosend a representative to its meetings

• as the Councils partner in co-regulatingthe standard of housing services itprovides

• and is entitled to the support set out inthe agreement between City HLB andthe Council about support for HLBs.

3.3 Legal and Financial IssuesAn HLB is an unincorporated association.That means it is a body to which peoplechoose to belong; which is defined by aset of rules (the Constitution and policiesagreed by members); and it has no legalidentity separate from its members. HLBmembers may be personally liable fordecisions they take. This means that HLBmembers should take at least the samecare as they would over decisions theymake in their own private lives.

The Council helps HLBs deal with legaland money matters. It takes onresponsibility for the consequences ofhow an HLB spends project money. Ifanyone chooses to sue for damages asthe result of an HLB project, they wouldsue the Council, not the HLB. This doesn’tmean that HLBs should act carelessly. HLBmembers may still be liable for decisionsthey take that might damage otherpeople’s interests. HLBs must take care,for example, not to:

• Endanger anyones life, health, propertyetc.

• Defame other people that meansmaking comments about other peoplewhich you cannot show are true andwhich cause them damage

• Compromise other peoples privacy

• Expose children, young people orvulnerable adults to risks which theymay not be able to manage.

To help safeguard members and others,the rules and policies of an HLB shouldmake it clear that it:

• Has a consultative relationship with theCouncil (an HLB advises, but it can’tinstruct the Council). HLB members arenot responsible for (nor can theycontrol) the actions of the Council

• Keeps and uses fairly a code ofconduct including rules which enable itto suspend and exclude members whobring it into disrepute

• Does not hold, or deal with, personalinformation except that held onmembers which is needed to run theHLB (eg to call meetings etc)

• Has no power to organise activitiesinvolving regular and unsupervisedcontact with children, young people orvulnerable adults.

The rules on the previous page shouldnot, however, be used as excuses forstopping an HLB carrying out, with care,the activities it needs to. HLBs haveimportant jobs to carry out – includinghelping to make sure that the moneypeople pay in rents and service charges isused in the right way. It would be anabuse to try to use rules spuriously to stopHLBs and service users having properoverview over the way public money isspent.

HLB members, council officers andcouncillors need to watch out for whenlaws and rules are applied over-cautiouslyas well as for when they may be too lax,eg:

• Health and Safety rules should notnecessarily be used to prevent HLBsfrom choosing to spend money onprojects which may pose some minor,manageable risk.

• Worries about defamation should notmean stopping HLBs reporting factualstatements about what people havedone and how it may have affected, oraffect, the interests of tenants andleaseholders.

• Data Protection should not be anexcuse for failing to provide HLBs withthe information they need (suitablyanonymised) to carry out their workhelping the Council to co-regulatehousing.

• Safeguarding concerns should not beused to prevent HLBs from involvingchildren, young people and vulnerableadults in their activities – so long asadequate safeguards are in place.

On this last point, some HLBs may decidethat they want members to undergo aDisclosure & Barring check (what used tobe called a CRB check). HLBs can requestthe Council to initiate these checks.Neither City HLB nor the Council,however, requires these checks. TheCouncil must have sound justification forinitiating any such checks and is thereforeunlikely to agree to making them inrespect of members of HLBs, bearing inmind that HLB members are not requiredto have regular unsupervised contact withchildren, young people or vulnerableadults.

3.4 Open, honest, transparent andinclusiveHLB members must not abuse theirposition to gain special treatment, moneyor benefits that are not otherwise due tothem. HLBs have a Code of Conductwhich is agreed by the members. TheCode of Conduct is based on the NolanPrinciples of Standards in Public Life. HLBmembers are expected to show:

Selflessness – they should act solely interms of the public interest. They shouldnot use their position to gain financial orother benefits for themselves, their familyor their friends.

Integrity – they should not placethemselves under any financial or otherobligation to outside individuals ororganisations that might seek to influencethem in their role as HLB members.

Objectivity – in carrying out HLB business.The decisions made by HLB members forexample over the use of project funding -should be on the merits of the case.

Accountability – HLB members aresubject to election every two years andHLBs produce an annual report which ismade widely available. HLBs work withCity HLB to maintain accountability.

Openness – HLBs are as open as possibleabout all the decisions and actions thatthey take. They publish the results of theirdecision making by making copies ofmeeting notes available and enablingpeople to attend meetings as observerswhenever possible.

Honesty – HLB members have a duty todeclare any private interests relating totheir public duties and to take steps toresolve any conflicts arising in a way thatprotects the public interest.

Leadership by example – HLB memberspromote and support these principles byleadership and example.

HLBs have the power to suspend, orexclude, from membership anyone whofails to uphold these principles or bringsthe HLB into disrepute according to termsset out in the code of conduct. City HLBhas similar powers to suspend or excludefrom its membership, any HLB which doesnot uphold these principles or whichbrings the HLB movement into disrepute.

If you live in Birmingham – and inparticular if you’re a Council tenant orleaseholder – then you can get involved inHousing Liaison Boards. If you’re alreadyactive in your HLB, then hopefully theGuide will be useful as a source of ideasand information and do have a look at the HLB website atwww.birmingham.gov.uk/getinvolved

If you’re not yet a member, you can check to see if there is an HLB in your area online atwww.birmingham.gov.uk/getinvolved orby contacting your local housing office(see the numbers listed under MoreInformation). If there isn’t an HLB in yourarea and you are a Council tenant orleaseholder, then you can help set oneup. Contact your local housing office forhelp.

Get involved

Abbreviations and JargonWe tried to keep the jargon to a minimum in writing the Guide, but some abbreviationsand specialist words are inevitable. Here is what they mean:

‘Biennial meeting’A meeting that each HLB holds every 2 years at which members are elected

City HLBThe body made up of representatives from HLBs in Birmingham which agrees thestandard for them

‘coregulation’HLBs and the Council working together to ensure that housing services are goodquality and value for money

‘Districts’Ten areas which Birmingham is divided into and at which level the Council isengaging with communities on local needs and priorities and where services can beheld to account

HLBHousing Liaison Board

‘service user’Council tenant or leaseholder or member of their household

‘social media’Ways people have of talking to each other which they own themselves websites andFacebook pages, Twitter etc

Tenant PanelThe term used in law for bodies like HLBs which represent tenants in thecoregulation of their housing

TPOTenant Participation Officer

TQPTenant Quality Promise the standard of service the Council commits to provide to itstenants

More information

Edgbaston – including Bartley Green, Harborne and QuintonHousing Services, Edgbaston District, Monmouth Road, Bartley Green, Birmingham B32 [email protected]

Tenant Participation: Jennie Carter, Edgbaston Housing Team, Bartley Green Housing Office, Monmouth Road, Bartley Green, Birmingham B32 [email protected] 0121 303 5359Mobile Number 07766 922460

Erdington – including Oscott, Kingstanding, Stockland Green and TyburnErdington District Housing Team, 599-603 College Road, Kingstanding, Birmingham [email protected]

Tenant Participation: Emma Batterham, North Quadrant Housing Team, 599-603 College Road, Kingstanding,Birmingham B44 [email protected] 0121 303 1952Mobile Number 07766 922095

Hall Green – including Moseley, Kings Heath, Springfield and SparkbrookYardley Housing Team, Rear of 146 Lea Hall Road, Stechford, Birmingham B33 [email protected]

Tenant Participation:Angela Mayne, Yardley Wood Neighbourhood Office, Rear of 146 Lea Hall Road,Stechford, Birmingham B33 [email protected] Telephone 0121 675 6098Mobile Number 07825 282516

Hodge Hill – including Washwood Heath, Bordesley Green and Shard [email protected]

Tenant Participation: Firoza Loonat, Hodge Hill and Yardley District, Rear of 146 Lea Hall Road, Stechford,Birmingham B33 [email protected] Telephone 0121 303 7128Mobile Number 07825 979161

Birmingham City Council Housing Contacts

Ladywood – including Aston, Nechells and SohoLadywood Housing Team, Ladywood Neighbourhood Office, Botany Walk, Ladywood,Birmingham B16 [email protected]

Tenant Participation: Munasif Mohammed/Evangeline Cripps, Ladywood Housing Team, Ladywood Neighbourhood Office, Botany Walk, Ladywood, Birmingham, B16 [email protected] [email protected] Munasif Mohammed: 0121 675 9903Mobile Number Munasif Mohammed: 07533 240921Telephone Evangeline Cripps: 0121 464 1614Mobile Number Evangeline Cripps: 07775 024712

Northfield – including Longbridge, Frankley, Weoley and Kings NortonNorthfield Housing Team, First Floor, Northfield Neighbourhood Office, 1a Vineyard Road, Northfield, Birmingham, B31 [email protected]

Tenant Participation: Nadeen Justice, Northfield Neighbourhood office, 1-1A Vineyard Road, Northfield,Birmingham B31 [email protected] Telephone 0121 464 3492Mobile Number 07824 694315

Perry Barr – including Handsworth and LozellsPerry Barr District Housing Team, Tamebridge House, Level 3, Aldridge Road,Birmingham B42 [email protected]

Tenant Participation: Sharon Gayle, Perry Barr District, Botany Walk, Ladywood, Birmingham B16 [email protected] Telephone 0121 303 3074

Selly Oak – including Billesley, Bournville, Brandwood and Druids Heath Housing Services, Monmouth Road, Bartley Green, Birmingham, B32 [email protected]

Tenant Participation: Sarah Wong, Selly Oak District, 1-1A Vineyard Road, Northfield, Birmingham B31 [email protected] 0121 464 3626Mobile Number 07766 924132

Sutton ColdfieldSutton Coldfield Housing Team, The Council House, King Edward Square, Sutton Coldfield B73 [email protected]

Tenant Participation: Margaret Scrivens, North Quadrant Housing Team, 599-603 College Road, Kingstanding,Birmingham B44 [email protected] 0121 303 1952Mobile Number 07766 922095

Yardley – including Acocks Green, Sheldon and StechfordYardley Housing Team, rear 146 Lea Hall Road, Lea Hall, Birmingham B33 [email protected]

Tenant participation: Andy Sheppard, Yardley District, Rear of 146 Lea Hall Road, Stechford, Birmingham B33 [email protected] 0121 464 1615Mobile Number 07825 979036

The purpose of this agreement will be toset out the support Birmingham CityCouncil will give to Housing LiaisonBoards and similar bodies it, and CityHLB, jointly recognise as acting as TenantPanels involved in co-regulating BCCsocial housing. (Leaseholders are tenantsfor the purposes of this document.)

1. Regulatory role of TenantPanels

1.1 Regulatory Consumer StandardsBirmingham City Council is subject to aRegulatory Framework set by the Homesand Communities Agency. This frameworkincludes four consumer standards dealingwith how the Council manages socialhousing:

• Tenant Involvement and Empowermenttenant information, complaints,opportunities for tenant involvementand empowerment, equalities anddiversity

• Decent Homes the quality ofaccommodation, repairs andmaintenance

• Tenancies allocations, lettings andexchanges and tenancy agreements

• The Wider Neighbourhood andCommunity estate and neighbourhoodmanagement, anti-social behaviour andjoined-up working.

1.2 Co-regulation of StandardsThe Localism Act gives landlords andtenants the job jointly of making sureregulatory consumer standards are met.The assumption is that Tenant Panels willwork with the landlord unless there is arisk of serious detriment to tenants or

potential tenants. If there is the risk ofphysical harm, financial loss or some otherserious damage or risk to tenants orpotential tenants, then Tenant Panels canask the Homes and Communities Agencyto step in.

1.3 Tenant Panels Government has not defined tightly whata tenant panel should look like. It has,however, issued guidance which set outsome key principles. Tenant Panelsshould:

• have access to the information andskills they need to be effective in co-regulation

• exercise and develop tenant leadership

• ensure fairness and access for all

• develop and use effective structuresand adequate support.

2. Support For Tenant Panels

2.1 Co-regulation at Local, District andCity LevelsBirmingham City Council has devolved awide range of (but not all) decisions aboutlocal services, including housing, to itsDistrict Committees. In practice, manydecisions are also made at ward andestate level by managers who areaccountable to District-based decisionmakers. Some decisions continue to bemade at city-wide level. There are threelevels at which tenant panels may beinvolved in co-regulation in Birmingham:

• Local i.e. ward or estate-level

• District level

• City-wide level

AppendixBirmingham City Council: Commitment to Tenant Engagement

HLBs (including TMOs and other bodiesrecognised by the Council and City HLB asequivalent to HLBs) will act as tenantpanels at ward or estate level. They willcoordinate and agree with DistrictCommittees the approach to co-regulationat District level. As members of City HLB,they will be involved in co-regulation atcity-wide level.

Birmingham City Council will support HLBsand HLB members to co-regulate at local,District and City levels by providing orarranging if required and as reasonable:

• access to meeting rooms

• transport to and from meetings or thepayment of travel expenses

• secretariat services keeping meetingnotes and circulating meeting papersetc

• an HLB website

• meeting space and assistance inorganising annual meetings

• event space and assistance inorganising social events

• support for District-level arrangements,e.g. HLB meetings, District ChairsForums

and in specific ways set out in more detailin the following sub-sections.

2.2 Information and SkillsHLBs and HLB members need keyinformation and the skills needed to makesense of and apply that informationcritically in order to carry out their co-regulatory role.

Birmingham City Council will support HLBsand HLB members by providing andarranging as requested:

• regular information in written form andin agreed formats relating to theperformance of housing servicescovering in particular TenantInvolvement and Empowerment;Decent Homes; Tenancies; and WiderEstate and NeighbourhoodManagement

• assistance in the interpretation of suchinformation

• training in performance management

• access to, and a part in determining theschedule for, neighbourhoodwalkabouts, which will be attended bylandlord services on a monthly basis.

• access to and information relating toestate assessments, the results of which,will be fed back to all those involved.

2.3 Tenant LeadershipHLBs can include people who are not thehousing service users (i.e. not tenants orleaseholders). Everyone involved in anHLB, however, must understand their role,purpose and responsibility and theiraccountability to tenants as a whole. Theymust be tenant-led and should be able toexercise that leadership including bychallenging the City Council and buildingtheir capacity and the capacity of theirmembers to lead and challenge effectively.HLBs should be able to engage with, andlearn from, the tenants they represent andfrom good practice developed elsewhere.

Birmingham City Council will support HLBsand HLB members by providing andarranging as requested:

• support for City HLB including itsmembership and affiliation to bodiessuch as ARCH and other third partysources of support, information andadvice

• training and support in representation,leadership and chairing skills

• training and support in influencing andnegotiation skills

• access to training and support in usingthe HLB website and social media

• support for engagement by HLBs withservice users

• support for learning by HLBs fromTenant Panels and similar bodieselsewhere.

2.4 Access and FairnessHLBs must be run according to equalityand diversity principles; they should beopen to all tenants and work inaccordance with accepted standards infairness and conduct. In particular, HLBsshould:

• seek to understand and reflect thediverse views of all tenants and serviceusers

• be accessible to all tenants so that theycan raise issues through them and jointhem as members

• have an agreed Code of Conductwhich is used and enforced.

Birmingham City Council will supportHLBs and HLB members by providing andarranging:

• help keeping membership records andfacilitating HLB membership andmailing lists

• help in conducting regular electionsincluding presiding over elections

• ensuring that HLB membership andinvolvement is presented positively andas part of the wider menu ofopportunities for involvement

• support in revising, updating andenforcing the Code of Conduct

• support in resolving disputes by way ofthe Your Views procedure

• ensuring that HLB meetings anddecisions are publicised to the widercommunity of service users includingthrough the HLB website.

2.5 Structures and SupportHLBs must be properly structured andresourced to be able to carry out theirwork. That means they should:

• Have clearly defined and agreedstructures in terms of constitution, rulesand policies

• Review the structures and theirperformance to see that they areworking effectively

• Be supported with sufficient money,time and expertise to be able to do thework expected of them.

Birmingham City Council will supportHLBs and HLB members by providing andarranging:

• support in revising, updating and usingconstitutions and policies includingthrough an HLB Guide book

• maintenance of an HLB Kitemark andthe process for reviewing HLBstructures and performance that willsupport it

• access to and support in identifyingsuitable projects for the use of theCommunity Improvement budgets.

44.45 March 2016

the guide for housing liaison boards in birmingham · hlbs and provide a set of handy reminders •...

Documents