It’s important that as many tenants as possible are involved in discussions to help us review what we do and improve services. It is also really important that people can see that their views have been taken into account and that outcomes from consultations are fed back to respondents.
We will feedback directly to respondents but the table below brings together information on last year's consultations. Last year, because of the ongoing Covid concerns, our consultations had to again be done virtually as well as information being posted out directly to all tenants.
| Name of Consultation | Purpose of Consultation | start and finish | Outcomes | Feedback and evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual rent consultation |
The Council has a statutory duty to consult with tenants about the rent it charges. Transparency about how rent money is spent has been improved with clearer information provided. Commitment also been made to involve tenants earlier in the rent setting process –meaningful discussions including housing investment plans, setting rent options and voting for all tenants on their preferred option. |
11 November 2021 - 20 January 2022 |
Virtual public meeting held on 11/11/21 with Finance and Housing Managers to discuss the draft HRA budget and options available. Option information and breakdown of investment plans sent to all tenants along with a free post voting card for tenants to vote for their preferred rent option. Voting could also be done via website, by text or phone call. 1089 tenants voted and Option 2, was the preferred option with 35.7% of the votes. This was put forward as the recommended rent increase and was agreed by Council on 9/3/22. |
|
| 2019/20 Annual Charter Performance Report for Tenants and other customers |
Review of Housing Allocation policy, understanding of how it operates and what if anything should be changed |
15 March 2021 - 1 September 2021 |
Consultation – Stage 1
Consultation – Stage 2
|
As a result of the stage 1 review process, commitments were added to the policy to provide annual lettings information to tenants and applicants to keep them informed with the allocations process. Feedback from Stage 2 of the consultation showed that there was a good level of support for the 5 proposed changes and so these were included in the new policy. Also acknowledged that further investigation was needed into medicals and a full review of medicals to be undertaken by May 2022. All applicants affected by the policy changes to be contacted when the policy goes live |
|
West Dunbartonshire Council Local Housing Strategy (LHS) 2022- 2027 |
The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 places a statutory requirement on local authorities to produce a LHS every 5 years that sets out its strategy, priorities and plans for the delivery of housing and related services. It should demonstrate the local authority’s strategic approach to dealing with key housing related issues such as:
|
June 2021 – August 2021 |
Survey on 5 key themes in the Strategy created and promoted. Theme 1: Housing Need and Demand Theme 2: Quality Homes Theme 3: Homelessness & Housing options Theme 4: Place and community: 20 minute neighbourhood Theme 5: Particular needs housing Overarching comments were also invited. 130 responses to survey were received and comments used to develop new Strategy - outcomes included acknowledgement of demand for older family accommodation, commitment to carrying out an Older persons housing review, interest in energy efficiency measures and need for improvements in current council stock as well as private sector , more clarity around the homeless process, strong support for the 20-Minute Neighbourhoods concept and clarified in new strategy that referring to a ten minute walk there and ten minutes’ walk back so 20 minutes in total, clear support for all of the regeneration areas identified in the draft survey and Bellsmyre added following feedback. In terms of addressing particular needs, as well as commitment to build 10% of new properties as adaptable also committed to training staff on mental health and autism and encourage housing partners to do the same. |
|