Tenant scrutiny panel deep dives into ASB

Published: 21 February 2024

Want to know more about what our scrutiny panel does? Read about their latest deep dive into our services, this time taking a closer look at anti-social behaviour.

In April 2023, our customer services committee asked the scrutiny panel to review our anti-social behaviour (ASB) process. The review was conducted by reviewing key documentation relating to ASB and meeting colleagues from SLH.

Our approach to ASB

We adopt a proactive approach towards community safety in our communities and aim to take efficient and effective action to prevent, reduce and resolve issues of ASB, hate crime and domestic abuse. We believe that every customer has a right to feel safe in their home and community, without the stress, fear, and tension that ASB and crime create.

The review

Throughout the review, scrutiny panel members met with several members of the community safety team and were provided an overview of SLH’s processes and several ASB case studies. These case studies provided members with a timeline of events, from the first instance of ASB being reported to the eventual outcome. Alongside the presentations from colleagues, members reviewed key documents, including:

• ASB Policy and Procedure
• Absolute Possession and Appeal Procedure
• Domestic Abuse Policy
• Hate Crime Policy and Procedure
• Starter Tenancy Policy and Procedure
• Dealing with Vulnerable Victims of ASB Procedure
• Internal Audit Report on ASB
• ASB Communication Plan
• ASB Training program for new starters
• ASB Teams Key Performance Indicators
• Satisfaction Surveys
• Standard letters sent to tenants regarding ASB.
• Tenant welcome pack

Benchmarking against other housing associations

Members also benchmarked South Liverpool Homes’ ASB information against other local housing associations and through this review, members agreed that SLH’s anti-social behaviour webpages exceeded others. Members commented that the section on the website is easy to locate and very easy to use, especially for those who are vulnerable or have accessibility issues using the internet. 

However, members suggested that we should do more to demonstrate successful outcomes to encourage tenants to come forward with their concerns and issues. It was also suggested that a video should be used to highlight what classifies as ASB and what to do if ASB is caused by someone who is not an SLH tenant.

More recommendations

Highlights of the panel’s recommendations included obtaining references from prospective tenants before being offered a home, to help identify those who have been involved in ASB in the past.

The panel thought that more work should be done to raise the profile of ‘cuckooing’, where a vulnerable person’s home is taken over and exploited, often for drug-related crime.

They also felt that the negative impact of littering and fly-tipping should be given more prominence on our social media channels and website.

Want to get involved?

We’re grateful for the time and effort that our panel put into this and every review they complete. Their tenant insight is fundamental to understanding the customer experience and making our services better for everyone.

We’re always looking for new members to join the panel and bring new and diverse viewpoints to our service deep dives. Panel members are given £50 for every meeting they attend and have access to a range of training and development opportunities.

Find out more about scrutiny panel and apply to join.