Estates and Communities Panel – 25 February 2026
Location: North Tyneside Council offices, Quadrant, Cobalt Business Park
Attendees
Tenant members - Linda (Chair), Marie Christine, Ronnie , Gaynor, Mary, Evelyn, Hilary
Gary Wilson – Interim Housing Service Manager, David Brown – Interim Neighbourhood Manager (Central), Julie Brown – Operations Manager, Community Protection, Fiona Robson – Service Improvement and Business Support Manager, Angela Melvin – Housing Engagement Manager
Apologies
Tenant members – Margaret, Christine, Clare, Clare
1. Notes of the last meeting and action log
Notes of the last meeting were agreed.
Action log: Request to return the stigma and challenging stereotyping action to the ‘open’ list as this work is ongoing. The panel agreed.
Note: Tenancy and application fraud had originally been on the list for today’s agenda, however this has been deferred to the May panel meeting due to the team’s availability.
2. Tenant Satisfaction Measures 2025 survey results
The panel had been sent a briefing note outlining the results of the 2025 survey ahead of the meeting.
FR explained the TSM survey was brought in in 2023 as part of wider national legislation, for all social housing landlords. A new inspection programme was introduced in 2024 and TSMs are considered as part of that. There are 22 measures, 12 of which relate to tenant perception and are included on the survey, the remaining 10 cover mandatory safety checks.
- The survey was sent out during September-November
- It went to a random selection of 5,000 tenants in the post
- 992 surveys were returned
- Of the returns, 563 were submitted by post, 262 were completed online and 167 by phone
As an incentive, a prize draw was offered to encourage returns, but this didn’t improve the response rate compared to last year.
Overall, satisfaction has increased in 11 of the 12 areas. Satisfaction with complaint handling decreased, but is still better than in 2023. The top three improved response areas are for:
- Communal areas being clean and well maintained
- Tenants feeling their home is well maintained
- Tenants feeling their landlord is making a positive contribution to the neighbourhood
Generally, tenants aged 65+ are more satisfied; North Tyneside Living tenants are more satisfied than general needs tenants (83% compared to 72%).
FR also highlighted some comparisons with other local authority providers and registered providers. We are broadly mid-table, with the exception of complaints for which we are in the top end of the national average figures (even though it was our lowest score). Registered providers generally get higher scores, however FR explained this may be because they are only being judged on housing services, whereas for local authorities our tenants may be influenced with their satisfaction with wider council services.
We feel the results are positive, but there are some key areas where further work is required to improve, particularly around:
- Home is safe
- Being kept informed
- Listens to views and acts on them
- Treat fairly and with respect
- Positive contribution to the neighbourhood
The panel asked about the low return rates and expressed surprise that so many tenants did not return surveys when they had an opportunity to give feedback.
In relation to the anti-social behaviour figure, JB said we hope that some of this panel’s previous work will improve this – for example the contact contract, revised letters and new Environmental Crime and Anti-social Behaviour Policy. On the measure about tenants feeling safe in their home, one tenant said that may be due to tenants’ perceptions of local anti-social behaviour issues.
FR added that perception can be helped by communication, for example with the property maintenance and home safety measures, we need to promote those regular safety checks so tenants are more aware of what we do.
The measures highlighted above will be the focus of an action plan to deliver improvements.
3. Estate walkabouts update and 2026-27 planning
A briefing note on this had been sent out in advance.
GW explained that the Neighbourhood Housing team do regular walkabouts on our estates. This is an opportunity for tenants to meet their Housing Officer, raise any concerns, note any hotspot areas and address any concerns promptly.
Ward councillors are invited and we promote the walkabouts to encourage participation – they are on the Our North Tyneside Voice website and have been promoted on social media and in the council magazine, however there is little engagement from tenants. The team talk to people as they are passing and knock on doors as they go but would welcome more participation.
Officers schedule the walkabouts on estates that we manage, but we also do unscheduled inspections if a resident complains about a particular street having an issue. The number of walkabouts has varied in recent years – 56 in 2023-24, then 109 in 2024-25 but this was a lot for the teams to manage alongside their other roles and so this year it was reduced to 82 (62 have been done to date).
Walkabouts were discussed at this panel last year and suggestions at the time around scheduling were incorporated into the timetable, however this has not increased participation.
Common issues identified included untidy gardens, fencing/roof repairs, fly-tipping, parking, graffiti and pavement faults.
GW will be compiling the walkabout schedule for 2026-27 shortly. The panel was asked for views on scheduling and whether including some sessions during evenings and weekends would help. No specific feedback was provided, however we can look into trialling some later walkabouts over the summer months, to test whether this increases attendance.
A tenant panel member noted that only one walkabout per year in their street felt insufficient and that they had not known when it was taking place. GW clarified that although only one formal walkabout may be scheduled per street, officers are out and about every day, visiting all streets and reporting issues as they arise. Tenants may not always join the walkabout, but issues reported will be addressed by the team.
Officers maintain a log of issues identified during walkabouts, which is shared with relevant teams for action. This includes issues raised directly by tenants, allowing us to track action points from each walkabout. The panel requested that these details be shared in the future.
The panel also asked if reminders could be sent to streets in advance, as communication can sometimes be an issue. GW confirmed that a standard letter could be formalised for officers to deliver ahead of each walkabout. The panel will be kept up to date on this.
4. Recent consultation updates
A briefing note had been sent ahead over the meeting covering:
- Neighbourhood and Community Promise
- Environmental Crime and Anti-social Behaviour Policy
- Communal block cleaning trial
For the first two, this panel had given initial feedback on early drafts, which was incorporated into the versions which went out for wider public consultation during December-January.
Thirty-seven responses were received on the Neighbourhood and Community Promise; and 79 on the Environmental Crime and Anti-social Behaviour Policy. Consultatation reports for both of these are now published on the Our North Tyneside Voice website. The Promise document is on there too, the Policy will be taken to the council’s Cabinet for formal approval shortly.
Some of the consultation feedback was around having a shorter version of the Policy, so it was easier to understand and more accessible. JB confirmed this will be taken forward.
A decision on the communal block cleaning trial will be taken early in the new financial year. GW explained we do quarterly block inspections and can see that some blocks do need some attention. Residents are responsible currently for cleaning these themselves and some do, however others don’t.
The panel will be kept up to date on progress.
5. Performance and complaints update
The quarterly performance scorecard and complaints report had been shared in advance.
Scorecard
This shows a mixed picture. Tenancy home visit figures at 95.4 per month are noticeably lower than the target of 208. We had stretched that target but are finding that we are identifying a lot of issues, including some around hoarding, self-neglect and safeguarding, which does take more time and requires multiple visits. We also continue to experience issues with no access, despite reminders to tenants to allow us access to their homes.
New tenant contact visits are at 37.7% for the year to date, which is well below the target of 100%. We do sometimes do these visits outside the six-week window and appreciate that not all tenants may want or need a dedicated contact, especially if they have been tenants before. A phone call for them may be more appropriate. Considering those visits completed outside the six-weeks, the figure increases to 59%.
A tenant member stressed how important these visits are in terms of supporting tenants. GW outlined that a lot of different teams will have contact with the tenant around the same time, e.g. the income team for benefits support, or the new homes team. There is scope to consider if the new tenant visit could be done at the same time.
Housing-related anti-social behaviour remains comparatively low, with the number of cases remaining stable and manageable. A tenant asked why the target to close them is 42 days when the scorecard shows we are closing them in an average of 15? JB explained that this will shortly be changed to 25 days, which is more than achievable, however we don’t want people to think we are target-driven to close cases. There will be some complex cases that can take over a year and they will remain open for as long as they need to.
Complaints
Figures for quarter 3 (October-December) show complaints had increased quite a bit compared to the same period last year – 96 compared to 77. This is reflected across other council services, and nationally. FR said this may be linked to the Housing Ombudsman raising its profile and encouraging tenants to complain. We aren’t unduly concerned at the increase and view complaints as a positive, if we know something has gone wrong, we can take steps to put it right.
Also, some residents are using AI tools to write a complaint, these are often complex and about multiple things. Therefore, some complaints like this may be upheld only in part.
The Housing Ombudsman changed complaint handling a couple of years ago, so now people can escalate to Stage Two without providing a reason. We feel that some of this may be about managing expectations. Our target response timescales are 10 days for Stage One and 20 days for Stage Two. Any extension must be with the agreement of the tenant and 97% of all complaints were responded to within the expected timescales.
The main themes for complaints received during quarter 3 were:
- Delay in a service being provided
- Poor communication/customer service.
FR outlined that we have done a lot of work over the last two years to improve complaints handling and are sharing a lot more information now, internally and to tenants via discussions at our panels. We are explaining our decisions and looking at a broader range of remedies,
Communication issues can be within the service and co-ordinating jobs that require multiple different teams or trades. FR explained that mandatory drama-based training for all staff is coming up, focused on customer care and communication, and some complaints scenarios will be included. The training will demonstrate different scenarios and the potential impact of language and behaviour. AM added that we are inviting our tenant panel members to share any of their experiences which could be woven into the scenarios to be acted out. Staff are being invited to do so as well. This was very well received by the panel. Panel members were asked to let AM know of any examples by 27 February.
6. Any Other Business
Stop Social Housing Stigma – a tenant member and AM had attended the recent regional meeting, which shared good practice across a range of providers. They had recognised our commitment to taking action and AM will discuss our work further with the campaign group. The drama-based staff training will help with this work, and we are also keen to feature real tenants in future publicity. Any tenants who would like to volunteer to feature in photos or videos can contact AM.
GW mentioned that the Mutual exchange booklet needs updating and the panel will be asked to review this shortly, once a revised draft is available to share.
AM will start the 2025-26 Annual Tenants’ Report soon and we want to have comments from members of our tenant panels on what they have covered this year. Tenants were invited to have a think about what they might like to include.
AM is also looking to develop training for tenant panel members and an induction process for new members. We would welcome input from current panel members with their ideas of what they would have found helpful when they first joined. AM will follow up separately.
If anyone would like to volunteer as Chair for the next meeting, please let AM know.