Tenants Forum 2008
5th June 2008
Arcon held its annual Tenants Forum which was attended by tenants, the senior management team from Arcon and several board members. The agenda for what proved to be a successful and informative meeting was as follows.
Newsletter
Everyone was happy with the changes that have been made to the format and editorial content of the newsletter following comments made at last year’s forum. There are now two members of the Tenant Committee on the editorial panel and this has helped to make the newsletter more customer focused.
Status Survey
The Chief Executive gave an overview of the status survey results which were very encouraging. A selection of key driver questions was included and these have helped to identify what is most important to our tenants. Not surprisingly these were improvements to the property such as new upvc double glazed windows, replacement boilers and new kitchens. Arcon has a planned programme of improvements that we have been implementing for several years now, and we will continue fund this work in the future to improve the properties for our tenants.
Mobile Warden Service
Following on from last years forum when we discussed ways in which we can help to support our older and more vulnerable tenants, Arcon have introduced a pilot scheme for a mobile warden at two of our over 55s schemes at Thompson and Wilton Court. The warden service is provided by Johnnie Johnson Housing Association who specialise in provision for the elderly. The up take of the service has been encouraging and we will review this at the end of the six month trail period and decide whether to keep the service and even expand the provision to other schemes in the future.
Financial Inclusion
Arcon have been working on a variety of projects to help promote financial inclusion. They include promoting the Manchester Credit Union, and setting up a referral service with the Citizens Advice Bureau so tenants can access free and independent advice on financial matters. Other initiatives are being investigated, eg alternative utility suppliers, and will be promoted via our newsletter and website in the future.
Added 22nd July 2008
