TSA Chief Peter Marsh's speech to TPAS conference - full text » Housing » 24dash.com

The Chief Executive of the Tenant Services Authority, Peter Marsh, delivered a key note speech to this year's TPAS conference on July 31.

Mr Marsh touched on a number of issues during his conference address from the National Conversation and TSA as a new regulator to the credit crunch, repairs and maintenance and the 'power of information'.

Here is the full text of Peter Marsh's speech:

"It’s good to be back at the TPAS conference.  This time last year I made my first speech as the CEO designate of the TSA.  And what a year it has been.

"Today I will talk about three things.  First, I want to l tell you what we – the TSA – have been up to since we launched in December last year. Second, I want to share with you how I believe our proposals for the new TSA standards framework will ensure we focus on the things that matter most to you as tenants – Third, I want to describe what I believe ‘co-regulation’ means for you and why now is the time when tenant empowerment matters most.

"Let me take each in turn.

"So what have we – the TSA – been up to since our launch on 1st December – 4 months ahead of schedule?

National Conversation

"Over the last few months I’ve met hundreds of tenants up and down the country.  Sometimes this has been at conferences such as TAROE in Ipswich and Newcastle, at the Tenant Action Zone at CIH in Harrogate, the Co-operative and TMO conference in Windsor earlier this month and the Sheltered and Supported Housing conference in Stratford. 

"Earlier in the spring I was invited to present to tenants at the AGM of the All Party Group of ALMOs at the House of Commons, where eighty tenants from Ulverston in Cumbria to Lewisham in London were keen to grill me extensively on TSA’s plans!  Some 25 Local MPs observed the proceedings.

"You’ll see I’ve decided not to use power point bullets today.  Instead the photos on the screen are from visits around the country where we’ve talked to you face to face – the people we are here to serve – as part of the TSA’s national and local conversation events.

"Visits like Housing Hartlepool’s local conversation, with the then Junior Housing Minister Iain Wright. Tenants of Housing Hartlepool including Mosh from Burbank, Tom from Rossmere, and Irene from Dyke House told us what they thought was being done right – and what wasn’t. The overall message that I took away from that day was that the process of involving tenants in the design and delivery of services that started way before the Stock Transfer took place had made a huge difference.  Iain reported to the Hartlepool Mail that the consensus was ‘Housing Hartlepool was ‘ellish’.  This wasn’t some proforma staged event in which tenants were primed to say nice things about their landlord – it involved a very vocal group, and yes they had good things to say, they also raised areas of real concern such as how complaints are actioned, and how insurance claims had been handled.

"In Basingstoke, fourteen housing associations across Hampshire joined forces – 100 residents elected to represent 70,000 tenants gave their views on standards and services. Having been born on the Oakridge estate in Basingstoke, I was particularly keen to hear the views of residents in the area. The event included an interactive consultation facilitated by TPAS and I’m delighted that a County wide resident forum – now including tenants from Council owned stock is being set up.

"At Greenfields in Braintree I was introduced to the new Community Gateway model that provides a range of tenant and community empowerment opportunities based on the model of mutual ownership.  Each of the four Gateways operates in very different environments – Watford, Preston, Lewisham and rural Essex.  The pride and passion that flows from the tenant lead gateway model is the kind of ground-breaking, cultural change that we at TSA are keen to see repeated up and down the country. 

"From all our conversations I am convinced that there isn’t one single ‘best of breed’ structure or constitution.  Whether it’s an ALMO, an LSVT, a traditional, a co-op, TMO or a Gateway - organisations are proving that meaningful tenant engagement works.

"And let me be clear - We are not consulting for the sake of it. We didn’t want to present a fait accompli to you – a statutory consultation that we had created in our offices. We wanted to really make sure we got it right from the start; which is why we have also been talking to council tenants, although we will not start regulating their landlords until next year. 

"The National Conversation has been the largest ever engagement with tenants in England.  Yes it was important for us to talk to you directly – we are not the Housing Corporation Mark 2 – we are the Tenant Services Authority. 

"The detractors that didn’t understand why on earth we pitched up in an old VW camper van on our alternative tour of England have now seen that by getting out there and giving people a voice we have, I believe, got the start of a genuinely different approach to regulation in England. 

"We wanted to raise the bar and set a precedent for engagement – put simply - to practice what we preach.  Revolutions in tenant involvement don’t happen in Whitehall – they happen in your streets, in your neighbourhoods and because of you.

Credit Crunch

"Both the TSA and HCA were launched in an unprecedented global recession.  With car makers mothballed, banks bailed out, shares plummeting and lending severely constrained one of our top priorities has been viability.  And I make no bones about it – without a healthy balance sheet and strong cash flows homes don’t get built, decent homes programmes stop and services to tenants suffer. 

"Now this sector – associations and councils alike - has not been immune to the impact of the recession.  To date – and long may it be the case – not a single provider has faced insolvency and not a single tenant’s home has been threatened.  Maintaining that security - giving you the peace of mind that no matter what else may be happening – the roof over your head is safe.  

"This hasn’t been easy – there have been some tough calls to make.  Like how to handle what happened when long term interest rates took a massive dive.  That had a profoundly positive effect by reducing the cost of interest on some £12bn of loans that are linked to the variable rate across the sector – but for those organisations that had tried for the right reasons to ‘hedge’ the impact of interest rates rising they suddenly found the need to provide an extra £400m of cash or security – that’s the value of the homes you live in – to meet the cost of interest rates falling. We did not panic. We talked to the lenders, to the Government and to providers and to the HCA and we supported Boards and Finance Directors to manage the situation.

"So some Boards of Housing Associations have had something of a wake up call. And yes we have used our statutory powers where we have had to – such as the Statutory Inquiry into the affairs of Novas Scarman where we concluded that there had been a collective failure in that organisation and financial mismanagement.  Strong words and tough action that resulted in all the social housing being transferred to another housing provider in London.

"Despite the general lending market tightening we have seen more banks lend into this sector than 18 months ago – and whilst the margins have increased the total price of new money is lower than it was before the recession.  And encouragingly serious investors are looking at affordable homes to rent as one of the safest places to invest and that’s why we’ve seen £1.2bn of new money raised in the last twelve months from the bond markets.  So, any fears that people had that the tenant focus of the TSA would put off the investors has been proven wrong – it’s in everyone’s interests to have well run services that respond to the needs of residents.

"Sometimes I am asked “ok so you regulate us – who holds you to account?”  Primarily that’s the role of CLG and of Parliament.  And since I spoke to you last year I have appeared in front of the CLG Select Committee on three occasions – twice with Margaret Beckett and Bob Kerslake. And I can tell you it’s a pretty intense experience – not only is every word said recorded and published but the proceedings are broadcast live on the Parliamentary channel. 

The Power Of Information

"Last year I spoke about information on performance – and I outlined my vision of making the information we collect from landlords easier to access to allow tenants, boards and local authorities to see how landlords compare.  And here too we have made progress. 

"I can announce today that we are on track to launch the TSA Web Portal on the 1st of December. From that date you will be able to log on, enter your postcode and compare information about all the landlords operating in your area including:

• How many homes they own
• How much rent they charge
• How satisfied tenants are with the repairs service
• How satisfied tenants are with opportunities to get involved
• How satisfied tenants are overall

"This first version of our tenant portal will include information at a landlord level.  But we won’t stop there – I believe that if we are serious about tenant satisfaction we should not rely on a survey every three years and that’s why I can announce that we want landlords to move to real time satisfaction reporting – at a local level too.  There is a fear amongst tenants that some of the bigger landlords might be remote or less resident focused.

"I don’t believe size has to be a barrier to responsiveness – and we know that being small doesn’t guarantee great service either.  This is why it will be in all of our interests to show what performance is actually like in the places you live – getting underneath the averages to see where the best and worst performers really are.

"We are working very closely with the Audit Commission – our inspectors of choice.  We have commissioned a programme of 50 short-notice inspections this year – primarily targeting the worst performers to support landlords to improve services and engagement with tenants. 

TSA as a new regulator

"And whilst we’ve been out there doing our jobs we’ve been building a new organisation with a new structure and some new faces.  I was delighted when Phil Morgan was appointed to our top team and this week we complete the final stages of our internal restructuring which has seen half of the TSA staff go through a process of matching or applying for new jobs in the new teams – Risk & Assurance, Market Development and Tenant Services.  In the Autumn we will go out to advert for a number of vacancies as we build our new teams of Tenant Standards Advisors and strengthen our policy and research capacity.

"So that’s part one - my report on our first 8 months of being.  Now I want to share with you how I believe our proposals for the new TSA standards framework will ensure we focus on the things that matter most to you as tenants.

National Conversation Results

"During the National Conversation – some 27,000 tenants told us about your priorities for your landlord and the things you wanted us to focus on too. 

"Overall 76% of tenants say they’re satisfied with their landlords. Of this, 32% are very satisfied, while 44% are fairly satisfied. Some 13% are not satisfied at all.  We might not expect everyone to be totally happy all the time but what we do know is that whilst a good majority of tenants are happy, the range of views within and between landlords is quite marked. LA, HA and ALMO tenants are all about as happy as each other, only co-ops showed a difference – with nearly 10% higher levels of satisfaction.  Overall, it’s a good base to build from.  But if we are serious about customer delight we’ve still got some way to go.

"The key priorities for tenants are:

• Repairs and maintenance – this is the top issue
• Followed by health and safety,
• Then security in their neighbourhood,
• Then quality of communication - keeping tenants informed

And finally, dealing with complaints.

"And your messages to the TSA – the key things you want from us are:

• Repairs and maintenance - also one of the top three priorities for the TSA.
• Taken together, health and safety, security in the neighbourhood and tackling anti-social behaviour were the second, third and fourth issues for tenants from their landlord, and the need to tackle nuisance behaviour was also mentioned by many tenants. We recognise that although the Decent Homes programme has significantly improved things inside people’s homes, there is still more to be done to build decent neighbourhoods where all tenants feel safe and secure.
• Reasonable and affordable rent was another key priority for the TSA.

Tenants wanted the TSA to ensure that their homes are up to date and in a decent condition

"Tenants do want choice – and there is a direct link between levels of dissatisfaction and a desire for more choice.  Where this is most important is for repairs and maintenance and the design of your home

The TSA Proposals – Building a New Regulatory Framework

"We published our discussion document on the 9th of June – which I hope you will have all seen – this includes our proposed areas for standards and a set of initial draft standards for you to comment on and help us shape.

"So we are proposing a set of standards focused around 6 themes:

• The Service Offer
• Empowerment and Involvement
• Tenancy Agreement
• Governance
• Viability

Value for Money.

"The individual standards we are proposing reflect the Golden Threads from the National Conversation:

• Repairs and Maintenance
• Anti Social Behaviour and Security
• Rents
• Quality of Accommodation – decent homes
• Neighbourhood Management – decent places
• Empowerment
• Complaints
• Choice

"Plus standards that we feel are necessary to meet our statutory objectives around meeting the needs of prospective tenants:

• Tenure and Allocations

"And because landlords don’t work in isolation – and often the things that matter to you involve other partners too – we have proposed a standard on Local Area Co-operation.

"And of course Viability, Governance and Value For Money – Three pillars – alongside Empowerment - from which great service delivery flows.

"I do hope that you will find time to take part in this consultation – we’ve posed 18 questions in the document and the closing date is 8th September.  On the TSA stand this weekend we have 300 copies of the Consultation Questionnaire. These are special TPAS conference editions – each with a gold sticker.  Every return we get that’s involved five or more tenants in a local conversation will be entered for a draw on the 9th September and I’m delighted that TSA is sponsoring the lucky winner with £100 of High Street Vouchers.

"Once this stage of the consultation has been completed, and the results processed, we will begin our 12-week statutory consultation – in November. This will represent the culmination of all the hard work since January; of all the local conversations, questionnaires, and in-home surveys.

"So far I have covered what we – the TSA – have been up to since we launched in December and how I believe our proposals for the new TSA standards focus on the things that matter most to you as tenants.

Co Regulation

"Now, thirdly I want to share with you what I believe ‘co-regulation’ means for you and why now is the time when tenant empowerment matters most.

"Let’s start with what it isn’t.  Co Regulation is not the TSA laying down detailed rules and handbooks that define what to do and how to do it.   One Chief Executive put it quite simply to me: A landlord that spends its time facing the regulator is probably going to have its backside facing its tenants. 

"And Co Regulation is not self regulation by Boards. Whilst all boards and councils will want to do their best it remains a fact in a market where demand far outstrips supply, being not-for-profit is on its own not a necessary driver for improvement. 

"The way we live and work is evolving at a faster rate than at any time in history. For all areas of public service delivery, there are expectations of change driven by demands of the people who use those services.

"The “get what you’re given” approach to service delivery has no place in this millennium.

"We have new ways of finding information, or putting pressure, or ‘lobbying’ –the case recently of the guy who was refused compensation by United Airlines after they broke his guitar, so he recorded a song about the saga and his frustrating attempts to deal with them and put it on Youtube where it has received 4 million hits; and funnily enough they are now discussing compensation with him.

"We want to see landlords open themselves up to scrutiny and review and we want to see tenants take their place in the design and delivery of housing services.  It’s our job – the Law tells us so – “To ensure that tenants of social housing have the opportunity to be involved in its management”.  And from what I’ve seen in the last year where tenants are offered opportunities to be involved – at a level and time commitment that suits them – both sides win. 

"Landlords benefit from free consultancy undertaken by the people who know best what service delivery is like and tenants benefit from improvements in service and self confidence too.  But too often in the past tenant involvement has been like diving off the deep end of a swimming pool when what tenants want is to put a toe in the water and have a go at having a say.  That’s an idea that Erimus Housing in Middlesbrough use:

• Allowing tenants to ‘take a paddle’ in involvement through the website, attend a residents conference and a range of information to let you know what’s going on
• Progress if they want to do “a gentle swim” by joining an area forum, go on an estate walkabout or a one off meeting
• And finally if tenants want to ‘take a dive’ and join a contractor interviewing panel, become a board member or a residents panel member. 

"That’s why I believe our revolution in tenant involvement needs to start at the doorstep and work up to the boardroom.  Finding ways of providing every tenant – no matter how ‘active’ they may be – a greater say in how things are delivered in your neighbourhood is our goal. And if we can make tenant scrutiny panels, and tenant inspectors, tenant auditors, tenant regulators, youth boards the norm rather than the exception then we – at the TSA – will have helped shift the axis of power from the landlord : regulator relationship of the last century to the tenant : landlord relationship that is what Co – Regulation is all about. 

"And the next few years do not look easy.  Government Capital Investment resources are going to reduce rather than increase, the demand for homes that people can afford to live in will increase not decrease, and the need to take action to reduce fuel costs and protect the planet is real. So your job will be to work even closer with your landlords to share the tough choices when funding is incredibly tight. And I know that through tenant involvement costs can be cut and services can be improved. Like the £500,000 a year that South Liverpool Housing Group saved through its tenant led maintenance contract that resulted in 100% tenant satisfaction.

"Creating a virtuous circle of constant improvement, it is both a means to an end, and an end in itself. 

"Where governance is good, finances are strong and involvement is effective tenants and landlords will be and are already working in partnership to deliver great services in April 2010.  But where involvement is absent, or superficial and services are weak we are ready to take action and when the new powers turn on we will be able to use a new graduated set of powers to support improvement and enforce compliance with National Standards that have been designed and developed with tenants needs at their heart.

Repairs And Maintenance

"So let’s take repairs and maintenance as an example.  In the old regime landlords were set targets to ensure a percentage of repairs were completed within a particular time depending on the urgency of the problem.  The system had strengths – we could clearly measure how many jobs were done within the target time and we could publish performance tables comparing landlords too.  But in this co-regulatory world when we have talked to tenants about what matters most we have learnt that getting the job done right first time at a time that suits you seems to be the nub of what good looks like to you.  And rather than measure performance against our top down indicators in a co-regulatory world we measure performance by what counts – how satisfied you are with the services you receive.

"The Local Conversation is a way for tenants to 'Have Their Say' in how the services that their landlord provides will be regulated. 
 
"Tenants tell us that they want to make a meaningful contribution to this and the Local Conversation is designed to give you a route to tell us how our thinking is taking shape.

"We want landlords and tenants to work together on this but tenants should also feel empowered to do this themselves. 
 
"At the end of this phase of consultation we would like to see feedback from as many Local Conversations as possible.  Whilst there are a number of ways to contribute to the consultation the Local Conversation pack, which is available from our website or on request from our Enquiries Team, has been specifically designed with tenants in mind and we encourage those of you that might have friends or colleagues that aren't here today to take a pack from our stand and run your own conversation.  These don't need to be grand events - just a cup of tea and a chat and then complete the feedback form.
 
"And because we know local priorities vary from place to place we have invited landlords to submit plans to develop – in partnership with tenants – local standards too.  We will be announcing the first of these pilots in early September.

"So in the last half an hour I have told you what we – the TSA – have been up to since we launched in December last year, I’ve shared with you how I believe our proposals for the new TSA standards framework will ensure we focus on the things that matter most to you as tenants and I’ve described what I believe ‘co-regulation’ means for you and why now is the time when tenant empowerment matters most

"Finally I want to pay tribute to you and to TPAS. I mentioned their help with the interactive session in Basingstoke. For all the national events during stage 1 of the conversation, the role of TPAS was vital – we couldn’t have done it without you. TPAS were also key in making the Local Conversations work too.   And you’ve supported our shared mission through:

• The TP Workers conference
• Work on TPAS accreditation system and sharing with us your learning from that experience to feed into the regulatory framework
• Helping to organise 5 regional events in the current phase of the National Conversation
• Reaching out with targeted events aimed at hearing the view so BME tenants.
• And thank you to Michelle who together with TAROE and the NTV and alongside Lenders and others being a key voice on the TSA Sounding Panel

"I would like to take this opportunity to praise Sarah Thakkar and all her excellent work during her year as TPAS Chair and wish her well in her new role at Wandle Housing and to welcome Michelle as your new CEO. 

"It is a real privilege for me to lead the TSA and I’ve enjoyed working with you all.  We are the TSA and we are here to work with tenants and landlords to raise the standard of service for tenants.  Thank you."