Written by Mary, Chair of the Customer Scrutiny Panel
The Customer Scrutiny Panel (Cusp) has had a busy few months. We have welcomed new members; we have agreed some key roles for group members such as a Chair and Vice Chair, Mary and Alisa respectively, and we have taken part in several interesting and in-depth scrutiny activities.
Over the past three months, we’ve continued to receive training from Claire Blacka, from Tentacles Consultancy, to help us prepare for our first scrutiny exercise.
To put our training into practice we met with the Alliance Homes’ Repairs team, including Michelle Benson, Repairs Manager, to explore and scrutinise in-depth the service they provide to customers, making sure our customer voice was heard. We used an innovative technique called ‘Game of Homes’, a workshop-style scrutiny exercise designed to tackle serious issues and get into the detail of what happens in practice. The output of the activity has been put into a delivery plan, based on our recommendations.
We’ve also agreed a governance structure for how Cusp meets with Alliance Homes’ Board members and members of the Senior Leadership Team. This is to support members track progress and achievements arising from the scrutiny process.
Cusp is now focusing on the recruitment process for volunteers who wish to take part in engagement activities and agreeing our work plan for 2026.
Kath and I taking part in the ‘Game of Homes’ scrutiny activity with the Alliance Homes Repairs Team.