Customer Committee
The Customer Committee is a sub-committee of the Board of Management at NCHA. Its purpose is to oversee the performance of NCHA specifically in relation to customer experience. The Customer Committee is made up of three customers and three Board members. It is chaired by an Independent Chair, Raj Kumar, who is not a member of staff, a customer or a Board Member. Raj is an expert in resident involvement and works across a number of organisations including NCHA to support their governance and resident involvement work.
The members of the committee include:
- Natalie Robinson – customer and Board member
- Lorelei Jarvis – Board member
- Paul Parkinson – Board member
- Angela Miller – customer
- Sharon Borret - customer
- Helen Dunne - customer.
This committee is supported by customer panels looking at:
- areas of neighbourhood management and repairs and maintenance
- detailed scrutiny of specific performance outcomes
- our work with customers who have care and support needs.
Our achievements in 2023/24
We made a number of important decisions including the approval of the:
- Customer Involvement Budget
- Estate Management Policy
- Customers With Vulnerability Policy
- Approach to collecting our Tenant Satisfaction Measures
- Annual Report to Customers
- Recommendations and associated action plan from the Scrutiny Report into complaints management
- Terms of reference for our Homes and Neighbourhood customer involvement panel and our Care and Support voice panel.
We reviewed the annual complaints and compensation performance including the self assessment against the Housing Ombudsman Code and made recommendations on the Compensation Policy for NCHA’s Board. We also reviewed all Housing Ombudsman findings of maladministration in our service delivery and reviewed the lessons learnt and actions coming from these. We reviewed NCHA’s progress against our ‘Homes for Cathy’ homelessness commitments and Better Social Housing Review actions.
We received a really good update report on the development of Scheme Managers, who support us on the upkeep of communal areas. Following customer feedback this service has been developed and cleaning has been outsourced to contractors meaning that our Scheme Managers, or Multi-Site Service Operatives as they are now known, are able to complete small repairs and maintenance jobs quickly and efficiently.
In terms of performance management we also saw quarterly reports on key performance data telling us what was working well and what needed improvement in key areas such as complaints, responsive repairs and landlord health and safety.
We considered the results of the Tenant Satisfaction Measures and the actions NCHA planned to take to improve areas where satisfaction was low, including satisfaction complaints handling, communal areas and the time taken to complete a repair.
I've been a NCHA customer for over nine years. When I saw the committee member role advertised, I didn't think I'd actually get it, but thought I'd give it a try. Now here I am, in a new position. I’m on a new committee and I sincerely hope I can bring a fresh perspective, new ideas and a clear voice pushing NCHA customers’ thoughts and opinions forward in the future.
Angela Miller, Customer Committee Member
As an NCHA customer for the past seven years I’ve had interactions with various departments. This gave me insight into the organisation. I like the ethos, having the customer at its core. Since all my children are now adults, I have more time on my hands and I want to use it productively. I hope to enhance my knowledge of the housing sector and use my skills and experience to add value as a member of the Customer Committee.
Sharon Borret, Customer Committee Member
