Customer Voices Panel meetings

We had the 1^st Customer voice panel meeting of 2026 on the 26^th January.

At the meeting, we heard updates from the Heads of Service and talked through the information from the quarterly reports. These quarterly updates help us understand what is happening across the organisation and decide which areas we want to focus on in future meetings. We’ve arranged future sessions with the Head of Assets and the Housing Director so we can look at some topics in more detail.
 

We also heard that the new website will have a section for customer‑facing policies. The Panel will help decide which policies should be included. The Panel have already helped shape the content of certain policies, and we choose to focus on this type of work later in the year.

We discussed the upcoming recruitment campaign for new Panel members and the plans for wider customer engagement. We discussed what had motivated us to become involved with the panel and how this could be communicated to encourage new people to join. We are excited to be involved in these activities and are looking forward to welcoming new members onto the Panel.

We are updating our Code of Conduct and reviewing the induction process to ensure new volunteers receive clear guidance and support. As experienced panel members, your input is essential.

• A draft Code of Conduct has been sent to you by and is uploaded here in the document section for your review.
• For reference, we have also included an example from another organisation that has been recognised as best practice.
• If you would like these documents printed and posted please let Kirsten know and we will arrange this.

We welcome your comments and feedback on the draft Code of Conduct:

• If you’d prefer to discuss your feedback, let Kirsten know and we can arrange a phone call.
• Alternatively, Michelle Collins (Customer Services Director), Louise Darby, and Kirsten will be available to meet in The Tannery on 17th November between 9:30 –10:30. Please confirm if you’d like to attend by lunchtime on Friday 14th so we can book you in and arrange any of the travel arrangements you may need.
• The documents are here on Your Voice in this members area, where you can also start an online discussion. 

• This is your space to share ideas and comments. If you would like support to access Your Voice please get in touch and we will assist you with this.

In addition to the Code of Conduct, we would also appreciate your thoughts on what would be most useful in an induction for new panel members. Kirsten is currently developing a draft induction pack, which will be circulated for your input. It would be helpful to gather your insights early, so please contact Kirsten if you have suggestions to share at this stage. Please send in your feedback and suggestions by Friday 28th November. Both documents, incorporating your feedback, will be included on the agenda for our next meeting in December.

Finally, Leeds Federated is reviewing the staff Code of Conduct in preparation for the introduction of the Competence and Conduct standards. If you are interested in hearing more about this work, we can add it to a future CVP agenda.

You are able to post comments and start a discussion here - so please use this space if you have anything you would like to discuss before the meeting.

Hello Everyone,

As promised, a quote for the eNews. If you feel there is something missing or something should be taken out, feel free to say. It would be much appreciated if you could make a comment before Monday 4 August.

Kind Regards,

Mark

Our quarterly meeting with the heads of service was very productive. It enabled the Customer Voice Panel to formulate some guiding principles for both the panel and Leeds Federated to work by going forward. After quarterly performance updates there was strong challenge from the panel on Customer Service and Complaints, but also highlighting the good work and high scores for customer focus questions compared to other Housing Association in quarter 1 of the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM). We appreciated the strong performance in Housing Management and Development, but continue to press for improvement on all aspects of cleaning, repairs and maintenance. As a result, we have scheduled a meeting for the end of the year to include representatives from contractors. We ended with an informative discussion on Challenging Stigma in Social Housing; as part of the Challenging Stigma campaign, we were asked what 3 things we were before we are social housing tenants? One thing all the Customer Voice Panel are before they are social housing tenants is:

‘We are all “Your Voice”, we speak for all the tenants on matters that concern us all.’

Hello, at the meeting in June as part of the feedback on the customer engagement and influence policy it was suggested that we focus on developing guiding principles. We discussed the work undertaken with support from TPAS in 2023 and a summary of what was recommended is included here and in the meeting folder for 28 July. Please read ahead of the meeting and feel free to start the discussion here by raising any points or questions for us to discuss further when we meet.

Thank you

Please feel free to add any points you wish to raise or discuss ahead of the meeting

I've raised this before, the 'let us know your needs and adjustments', how are customers' personal sensitive information recorded and complies with GDPR. 

thank you

richard CM

Hi everyone, fyi, I'd like to share my views & additional comments on the next 10yrs National Housing survey. 

Substantial investment seen in properties and external areas. Much reduced anti-social behaviour incidents (still needs progress). Improved Visual and Communication from Neighbourhood Officers. Our community has become more diverse and this works for us. 

 We see more different organisations, e.g. third sector organisations, housing providers & local authorities, working together.

Our housing provider has new, much needed services, such as, financial capability and signposting to specialist services for debt solutions.

 The quality of interventions has modernised to improve. The challenge now is to be able to deliver these results, as the services are unable to meet demand. Both functionality, availability and finances need increased.

 I still see a divide between what is happening at more senior levels compared to people at the front line. The social stigma campaign needs to flow through all levels of an organisation. Leaders should not assume all is well.

 A strong ambition is needed with quality and realistic targets. Explain exactly what 'affordable homes' are and reduce the balance between affordable and social housing properties being built. Create different forward thinking programs and positive solutions to new home building and renovating existing stock. Investment in education and training for social housing customers.