Our New Website - February and May 2019
Some of you recently attended sessions where you have helped design our new website. Sessions were held in both Bristol and Exeter. The sessions covered how easy it was to find your way around the new website, content and visual appearance.
Following on from these sessions we invited you to give your views via a short digital survey.
In May individual testing sessions were held with some of you in our Exeter office.
Our Anti Social (ASB) Policy - February 2019
During February we invited you to share your thoughts on our proposed new Anti Social Behaviour Policy. 183 of you took the time to complete our online survey and 46 attended our ASB focus groups held in Weston, Plymouth and Penzance.
Thanks to you input, our approach to ASB better reflects the needs of our customers and recognises the impact on those who experience ASB. We've made changes to three key areas:
Responsibility - there was a lack of clarity around what you could expect from us, the new policy sets out clearly that there is a shared responsibility, between LiveWest and partners such as the police. It will sometimes be appropriate for us to take the lead in dealing with cases but not always. There will also be ongoing training for staff to ensure they are consistent in their approach and are able to manage expectations by clearly communicating with you.
Practical and emotional support - you highlighted the importance for us to provide both practical and emotional support to customers experiencing ASB. The new policy makes a commitment to maintain communication with customers, giving regular updates on the progress of the cases. It also sets out a requirement for monitoring customer satisfaction when cases are closed.
Response times - there were many concerns about the response times set out in the draft policy. The new policy recognises this and has moved 'threats of violence' into the 'red' (high-risk of harm) category. It also states that while 'amber' (standard risk of harm) cases take up to 5 days to begin investigation, they will all receive an initial response within 24 hours.
Our Tenure Policy - February 2019
In February we asked for your views on our proposed new Tenure Policy, 110 of you took the time to give us your feedback via an online survey.
The results:
- 83% of you told us that the length of tenancy matter to you when you first moved into your home
- 61% of you told us that the length of tenancy mattered to you as it provides stability and security
- 72% of you told us that when you moved into your home you planned to live there for longer than 7 years
- 60% agreed with the approach to offer fixed term tenancies for 7 years when a new customer moves in to a family sized home (3 bedrooms or more)
- 57% agreed with the approach to offer lifetime tenancies to those moving into smaller 1 & 2 bedroom homes
- 87% agreed that we should give customers with new tenancies a 12 month 'probationary' tenancy which will change to a full one if there are no concerns about ASB or persistent rent arrears.
A message from Suzanne Brown, Executive Director of Neighbourhoods and Customer Service
'I want to thank everyone for feedback during our tenure policy consultation.
The board reviewed your feedback and agree a new tenure policy in February. This means from the beginning of April 2019 if you apply for the tenancy of a 1 or 2 bedroom home we will offer you a lifetime tenancy. If you apply for a home with 3 or more bedrooms we will offer you a 7 year fixed term tenancy. At the end of the fixed term we will generally renew this, unless your circumstances have changed, when we will support you to find a smaller home with us and free up a larger home for a new family. We believe that this helps us make the best use of homes we have available and support those who need family accommodation to get the home they need. For some specialist and supported accommodation a shorter term tenancy of licence may apply. In line with your feedback new customers will be offered a starter or probationary tenancy for the first 12 months.
Thank you for helping us and feeding in your views. You are helping us design services for the future.'
Customer Engagement Strategy - October 2018
In October 2018 we were delighted when 269 of you helped us shape our Customer Engagement Strategy. During the campaign you told us:
- You are happy to take part in lots of different ways including using a variety of digital platforms especially our website and social media
- Value for money and keeping the cost of engagement down are important to you
The top three topics that you would like to engage with us on are:
- Repairs and maintenance of your home
- Your neighbourhood and neighbours
- How we communicate with you
The top three things that we can do to support you when you engage with us are to:
- Cover the cost of any expenses that you incur
- Provide training and development to help you develop your skills and knowledge
- Provide information in an easy to read format and not use jargon
We are continuing to develop how we engage with you including offer all opportunities via digital platforms so we are able to hear from those of you that are unable to attend meetings. We continue to offer face to face opportunities as well.