Tenant and Retirement Living Leaseholders Recognition Scheme

20 points per hour of participation will be given to tenants and leaseholders, with points allocated for each 15 minutes or more.

Activities covered:

• General Resident Association Committee Meetings – all members of the Committee will receive points for the length of time of the meeting and with time allowed for travel there and back and any preparation needed g. reading minutes, typing notes etc.
• Attending a focus/project group with time allowed for travel there and back and any preparation needed g. reading minutes. In addition to points for the length of the meeting.
• Being part of the scrutiny group with time allowed for travelling there and back and any preparation needed e.g. reading minutes, typing notes e In addition to points for the length of the meeting.
• Being part of the virtual reading g Points will only be allocated if the member responds with comments on the reading material. Time will be at a flat rate of 30 minutes for those that come back with comments, changes etc. With 60 minutes allocated for those that respond with comments on Threshold.
• Responding to a survey/consultation – includes a transactional survey after receiving a service from us – Time will be allocated at a rate of 1 minute per question answered.
• Being part of the Grants panel – with time allowed for reading minutes, typing notes etc. All members that respond will be allocated the same amount of time for consistency with the amount of time allocated depending upon the complexity of the grant but ranging from 15 minutes to 1 hour.
• Attending an Estate Walkabouts – Housing Officer/Estate Warden to inform Tenant Involvement Team (if no one can attend from this team) who turned up so that points can be allocated. Points are allocated for 1 hour except on small estates such as Evelyn Clarke Square where they are allocated for 30 minutes.
• Being part of and attending meetings of the Consumer Panel with time allowed for travelling there and back and any preparation needed e.g. reading minutes, typing notes e In addition to points for the length of the meeting.
• Being an active Community Representative, Estate or Block Champion, points will be allocated based on the time spent by representative/champion in monitoring work on their estate/block – this will be based on returned completed monitoring forms with time allocated between 15 minutes and 1 hour depending upon the level of detail in the monitoring form.
• Undertaking any other activity detailed in our Tenant Involvement Options Brochure (which may change from time to time) with points allocated for the time spent undertaking any preparatory work as well as time spent attending the event/undertaking the work.

A £10 gift voucher or the equivalent monetary payment direct into the customers’ bank account will be allocated for every 50 points achieved.  Unused points will roll over until 50 points are reached and a £10 gift voucher/money issued.

Vouchers/money will be given out twice a year: in April and October. We will give One4all vouchers.

Scrutiny Groups

In addition to receiving points, after the successful completion of a scrutiny project each member of the scrutiny group will be given:

A £25 gift voucher/monetary alternative for a one day/one meeting scrutiny project.

A £50 gift voucher /monetary alternative for more in-depth/longer timescale projects involving multi meetings and/or preparatory work. Provided that they have attended all of the meetings of the group and undertaken any work allocated to them, unless there are exceptional circumstances. In these cases, only where 75% or more of the meetings have been attended will points be allocated.

Focus Groups/Task and Finish Groups

Anyone attending a focus/project group, in addition to receiving the points, will also receive a £25 gift voucher/monetary alternative.

Consumer Panel

All members of the Consumer Panel that have signed up to the Code of Conduct will receive a £50 gift voucher /monetary alternative for each session that they attend.

Tenants attending Scrutiny Groups, Focus Groups or any associated training events will be able to claim additional expenses as set out below:

• Tenants will be paid via WDC for mileage at 45p per mile or the cost of travel using public transport. If neither of these is an option WDC will book and pay for a taxi either way, and only in exceptional circumstances which will be agreed with the Tenant Involvement Team beforehand, can the tenant/leaseholder book their own taxi and reclaim the cost of it. Any cost for travel, excluding mileage will only be reimbursed upon proof e.g. receipt.
• Child Care or other care costs will be paid up to a maximum of £20 per hour upon proof e.g. receipt/invoice
• Where WDC runs a focus group, training event, scrutiny meeting etc. refreshments will be provided. If it is an all-day event lunch will be arranged and as far as practical, we will meet any special dietary needs or arrange an alternative option
• Reasonable adjustments will be provided in line with our Reasonable Adjustments Policy, for example this could include a translator, documents in a different format including large print or third party support to enable the tenant/leaseholder to engage. Where the activity happens in person, we will ensure that the venue used is accessible for all.
• All tenants and leaseholders will be offered training where needed to get involved. The nature of the training will depend on their type of involvement and their specific needs.
• A tablet can be provided if needed so that a tenant or Retirement Living Leaseholder can get involved.

The full costs of the Tenant Rewards Scheme will be met from within the existing Housing Revenue Account budgets.

A budget of £5,000 will be set aside. The scheme will be administered by the Tenant Involvement team.