Congratulations to involved customers David Spruce and Julia Stonehouse, who have been appointed to the Housing Ombudsman鈥檚 new national Resident Panel.
The panel will help develop the work of the ombudsman as well as ensuring a stronger voice for tenants. More than 600 tenants applied to join the panel, with 100 chosen to represent a cross-section of landlords in the Housing Ombudsman scheme.
David is deputy chair of our scrutiny group, a panel of customers who review performance and propose improvements to the services delivered to our 18,000 tenants in Staffordshire and Shropshire.
鈥淗ousing Plus group members have recognised the breadth of knowledge that exists among its tenants and through the My Voice platform provides opportunities for customer involvement at every level,鈥� explained David. 鈥淢y experience on the scrutiny group has prepared me very well for this national role.
鈥淭he new Resident panel is about listening to customers, learning from each other and promoting excellence. It will also ensure that the voice of tenants is clearly heard in the response of the ombudsman to complaints received by housing associations across the country.鈥�
Julia Stonehouse combines her role as an involved customer, with a demanding full-time job. She has been part of the scrutiny group for the last six years and has also been appointed to the Housing Ombudsman鈥檚 new national Resident Panel.
鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 about doing something that helps other people,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚鈥檝e definitely gained a lot of confidence from being an involved customer and I know that we are helping to improve services. That was what encouraged me to apply for the new Housing Ombudsman panel, although I didn鈥檛 expect to get very far. I was surprised and delighted to hear that I鈥檇 been accepted.鈥�
Les Clarke, Housing Plus group executive director of housing and care said: 鈥淲hen our new group came together in 2019 we promised to listen to customers and went on to launch My Voice. This provides a range of channels for feedback including the scrutiny group where David and Julia have been doing such excellent work.
鈥淲e are delighted that they have both gained places on the new Resident Panel because it will give us a broader view of the national thinking around customer feedback and help us to reflect on some of the best practices in our sector.鈥�
You can get involved in My Voice to share your views, support your community and help us improve our services. Find more information about all the ways you can do that, here.