The outcomes we must achieve as part of this standard are:
- Maintenance of shared spaces - We must work co-operatively with customers, other landlords and relevant organisations to contribute to the upkeep and safety of shared spaces
- Local cooperation - We must co-operate with relevant partners to promote social, environmental and economic wellbeing.
- Safer neighbourhoods - We must work in partnership with appropriate local authority departments, the police and other relevant organisations to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour.
- Domestic abuse - We must work cooperatively with other agencies tackling domestic abuse and enable tenants to access appropriate support and advice.
Some of the ways we meet this standard include by:
- Working with our statutory and community partners to keep our estates and neighbourhoods clean and tidy.
- Clearing fly-tipping and graffiti on our land.
- Providing cleaning and grounds maintenance services via contractors to agreed standards which offer value for money.
- Carrying out quarterly inspections of our neighbourhoods and publishing the dates of these here so that customers can join us.
- Getting involved in community projects and initiatives designed to tackle issues and make improvements which are unique to the local area.
- Employing specialist community safety officers who work with the police, local authorities and other agencies to prevent and reduce anti-social behaviour.
- Working with the police, charities and other organisations to safeguard the people living in our homes, including via our dedicated tenancy sustainment service.
You can read more about this standard in this document from the Regulator of Social Housing: Neighbourhood and Community standard.
Related polices
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Anti-social behaviour policy including hate crime
pdf | 107Kb
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Neighbourhood management policy
pdf | 162Kb
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Playground inspection policy
pdf | 68Kb
Customer engagement groups monitoring performance against this standard
Neighbourhood Champion s
Neighbourhood Champions are our ears and eyes on the ground. They work with the Neighbourhood Officers to let us know how well services such as grounds maintenance and communal cleaning are being delivered in their neighbourhood. We then use this feedback to hold our contractors to account and drive improvements.
Building Safety Forum
The Building Safety Forum is made up of customers who live in our high-rise buildings.
They work with our building safety team to provide feedback and input on building and fire safety works, advice and communication.
The Irwell Valley Foundation panel
The Irwell Valley Foundation is our charitable investment fund which supports customers and communities with grant funding to support projects and people in the neighbourhoods where we have homes.
The panel oversees how and where the grants are given, ensuring funds are put to the best possible use in our communities.
Customer Standards Group
Our newly-named Customer Standards Group replaces our former Customer Offer Panel and tracks how we're performing against the new consumer standards.
Working with senior leaders from across Irwell Valley Homes, they drill down into different areas of the organisation to hold us to account and help us understand where and how we can improve.
Tenants and Residents Associations (TARAs)
Our customer engagement lead engages with TARAs which have been set up in the neighbourhoods where we have homes - facilitating communication and developing relationships in order to drive forward improvements which meet local priorities.
If you’re interested in joining any of these groups email involveme@irwellvalley.co.uk or call 0300 561 1111.
Other ways we measure our performance against the standards
We measure how we are performing against the standards through:
- Data we collect which monitors our performance.
- Surveys we issue to customers after they’ve received a service from us – our ‘experience surveys’.
- Our annual Tenant Satisfaction Measures survey – this measures against the Regulator’s set of standards and the results are published in June each year. These survey customers’ thoughts about how we’re doing at that point in time, rather than following a service from us.
Executive Director responsible
Ceris Esplen, Executive Director (Customers)
Ceris is responsible for the strategic leadership of our customer portfolio, strategy and insight.