Group Focus and Aims
1.1 To influence how Castle Point Borough Council (CPBC) provide housing service to sheltered housing tenants, and to give assurance where relevant, that those services are working well for tenants.
1.2 To review policies related to tenant facing housing services from a tenant perspective by assuring themselves
a) Sheltered housing tenants are not likely to be discriminated against,
b) the policy considers tenants’ needs and reflects their experiences using insight from tenant voices, and
c) that CPBC have used data and insight where available, to shape priorities within the policy where this is possible in line with the law and expectations of the Regulator.
1.3 To influence draft strategies which will impact sheltered housing tenants so these comments can be considered at approval stage.
1.4 To consider how consistently and fairly CPBC are providing services to sheltered housing tenants and how this might be improved based on needs.
1.5 The Panel will not make formal decisions on behalf of CPBC. These will be made by Board, Committees, the Executive Team or CPBC Cabinet. The role of the Panel is to:
a) influence decisions from a sheltered housing tenants’ perspective
b) give assurance that the Panel are satisfied with proposed changes, policies, strategies etc
c) challenge performance that is consistently not meeting targets and/or,
d) Influence the way CPBC provide services to, and communicate with, sheltered housing tenants.
Group Structure and Membership
2.1 The Panel will ideally be made up of 8 sheltered housing tenants with 1 representative from each scheme.
2.1.1 No members shall be CPBC Staff Members, CPBC Councillors, Staff, Board or Committee Members
2.2 The Panel will elect their own Chair and Vice Chair through a self-nomination process with Panel members voting for their preference. This will be by closed ballot with written ballot papers and can be conducted during a meeting. Email votes in advance may be made where attendance of that member is not possible. CPBC Engagement Team will oversee the voting. Both roles will be in place for 3 years unless either role resigns or is removed, at which point re-election will take place.
2.3 Each member will serve on the Panel for a period of 3 years unless they resign or are removed. Each member will serve a maximum of 3 x 3-year terms whether consecutive or otherwise.
2.4 Any member may resign from the Panel at any time by confirming this (preferably in writing) with either the Chair, Vice Chair, or a member of the CPBC Engagement Team. Any resignation will be taken with immediate effect unless it has been agreed there will be a notice period, negotiable with the Chair and CPBC.
2.5 The administration of the Panel will be supported by a member of the CPBC Engagement Team.
2.6 Any member of the Panel may have their membership ended by CPBC where:
2.6.1 They are in breach of this Terms of Reference, the Code of Conduct or have broken the Confidentiality Agreement.
2.6.2 They do not attend 3 consecutive meetings with or without apologies.
2.7 If any panel member has any concerns about the contribution of another panel member they should raise this confidentially with the Chair and/or a member of CPBC Engagement Team.
2.8 Any member may request a sabbatical period from the panel for personal reasons. This will be jointly decided by the Panel Chair (or Vice Chair) and a member of the CPBC Engagement Team.
2.9 In order to make sure CPBC can offer as many tenants as possible a voice at a strategic level, engaged tenants will be limited to a place on a maximum of two established groups across the framework including: Tenant and Leaseholder panel, Scrutiny Panel, Sheltered Housing Panel, Complaints Panel, Repairs Panel and Leaseholders’ Panel. They may, where appropriate and relevant, join one off projects or groups such as task and finish.
2.10 These terms of reference may be updated or reviewed at the request of group members or in response to agreed group changes at any time. They will also be reviewed every three years from the date the panel is created.
Meetings Information
3.1 The Panel will meet every other month for 2 hours (although this may vary depending on the agenda). Meetings will be held in person and will rotate to be held at each scheme. This is to give members an opportunity to visit other schemes.
3.2 The agenda for each meeting will be set with the Chair and CPBC’s Senior Leasehold and Customer Relations Manager. It will include:
3.2.1 Introductions, apologies and declarations of interest
3.2.2 Minutes from the previous meeting and actions arising
3.2.3 Any other agreed items within the remit of the Sheltered Housing Panel
3.2.4 Any Other Business
3.3 Panel members, CBPC staff or members of CPBC may request items to be discussed on the agenda giving at least one calendar weeks’ notice. This will be considered by the Chair and Senior Leasehold and Customer Relation’s Manager and time allocated to the item.
3.4 The agenda and supporting papers will be sent to Panel members at least one calendar week before the meeting date.
3.5 The CPBC Engagement Team will send meeting invitations to any staff, partner organisation representatives or councillors who may be presenting a relevant agenda item.
3.6 Each member has one vote per subject. Where there is an even outcome the Chair (or Vice Chair in the Chair’s absence), has the casting vote.
3.7 Members of staff, other groups, committees, Board or Cabinet may request or be invited to observe a Panel meeting. Observers do not have voting rights.
3.8 Where items are to be discussed which are not on the published agenda, members must raise them as “Any Other Business” at the start of the meeting. The Chair will decide whether there is time to discuss the topic at the end of the meeting. Where this is not possible, the item will be added to the agenda for the next meeting where it is relevant to the focus of the group.
3.9 In exceptional circumstances Panel members can be asked for comment or a vote on an item outside of a meeting, via email or phone call. Feedback will go to the requester via the CPBC Engagement Team and the rest of the panel with the outcome of the vote.
3.10 Where a member cannot attend the meeting, they should send apologies in advance (giving at least 48 hours’ notice wherever possible) to the CPBC Engagement Team. Where the Chair and Vice Chair are both absent, a CPBC Engagement Team member will chair the meeting.
3.11 Meetings will be minuted by CPBC, with agreed non-confidential minutes being published online, and excerpts made available to other CPBC groups where the context supports further relevant discussions. Minutes will not be published until approved by the Chair or Vice Chair following the meeting and will be redacted.
Group Members Role and Responsibilities
4.1 By taking part in the Panel each member agrees to:
a) Prepare for each meeting by reading all papers sent in advance.
b) Contribute to discussions at each meeting by suggesting actions, providing challenge and giving assurance where appropriate.
c) Represent the best interests of all CPBC sheltered housing tenants.
d) Send apologies in advance when unable to attend.
e) Respect and adhere to confidentiality, signing a confidentiality agreement when joining the panel.
f) Abide by the Code of Conduct for all engaged tenants, which must be signed when joining the panel.
g) Ask staff for clarification where any information or language is not clear.
h) Attend training designed to support the Panel role.
i) Share any learning relevant to the group’s purpose that they have read or heard from within the housing sector, including from conferences, training, press releases etc.
j) Ensure any recommendations or suggestions are not in breach of the Regulator for Social Housing’s Rent Standard or Consumer Standards, especially the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Consumer Standard and any other specific guidelines, regulation or law relevant to the topic. CPBC staff will be responsible for confirming this during discussions.
4.2 In addition the Chair (or Vice Chair in the Chair’s absence), agrees to:
a) Follow the agenda and make sure the meeting runs to time
b) Encourage contributions from all panel members
c) Welcome non-members who are attending
d) Work with CPBC staff to set and agree the agenda, and confirm meeting dates for the year
e) Ensure that members are acting within the guidelines of the Code of Conduct
Who feeds into the group 5.1 In order to fulfil the aims of the group, members will receive:
5.1.1 Written documents related to the discussion topics such as draft policies or letter templates. These will be created by the relevant CPBC teams and shared through the CPBC Engagement Team.
5.1.2 Performance updates in line with internal reporting cycles (monthly, quarterly, annually) including Tenant Satisfaction Measures, Key Performance Indicators and performance against relevant strategy actions related to Sheltered Housing provision.
5.14 Business intelligence (insights), as part of the above papers. This should demonstrate to Panel members how decisions have been made based on what CPBC already know about their tenants, properties and services.
Who the group feeds into
6.1 So that tenant voices are considered at a decision-making level, feedback, recommendations or requests from this group will feed into:
• CPBC Engagement Team who will publish a quarterly update of all tenant engagement for every tenant to access online. This will cover the engagement that has taken place and a summary of any known outcomes or recommendations.
• Scrutiny projects where requests are being made for new projects, or feedback has been shared from completed projects.
• Board/Committee via a written report and verbal update from the Senior Leaseholder and Customer Relations Officer or as part of specific agenda items. The Chair or Vice Chair will review this before it is shared.
• Senior Management and Executive Teams at CPBC via the Chair or Vice Chair will review this before it is shared.
• CPBC Cabinet via Committee members, where relevant as part of assurance that the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Consumer Standard is being met. Compliance will be confirmed by CPBC staff.
Incentives and expenses
7.1 Reasonable expenses will be reimbursed, including mileage at a rate of 45p per mile. Transport will be arranged by CPBC where required.