The document provides an overview of Cottsway's Resident Scrutiny Panel (RSP) and its work over the past year. It includes statements from the outgoing Chair reflecting on her experience over 5 years and passing on the role of Chair. The incoming Chair outlines her background and vision to continue the panel's work in scrutinizing Cottsway's services and influencing decisions through evidence-based recommendations. Brief biographies of several RSP members are also provided, demonstrating the range of experiences members bring to improving communication between Cottsway and residents.

1. “Improving Services and
Communication between
Cottsway and Residents”
Resident Scrutiny Panel
2015/2016
Annual Report
Resident
Scrutiny
Panel

2. 2
As I step down as Chair of Cottsway’s Resident Scrutiny
Panel (RSP), I am reflecting on my own personal journey
the scrutiny panel has taken me on these last five years.
Initially I joined the panel in 2011, heavily pregnant with
my second child. I wanted to be involved with something
new and I wanted a local job reference for when I was
able to return to work. The fact that there was investment
in training and I could gain new skills was also a deciding
factor. Cottsway’s strong focus on equal inclusion
opportunity by covering childcare expenses enabled me
to participate. Being involved with Cottsway’s Resident
Scrutiny Panel has given me direction.
Through my experience on the panel, I have developed a
passion for housing and a new career direction.
For anyone else interested in scrutiny, I would say it
provides a great opportunity to learn about your landlord
as well as receive training that can help you in your
work and personal life. It can also give a sense of
purpose, focus and accomplishment. It’s great to be able
to influence decisions and to make being a tenant of
Cottsway Housing more successful for everybody.
I am immensely proud of what we, as a panel, have
accomplished; not only as Cottsway residents, but also
by successfully working in co-regulatory partnership with
Cottsway’s staff, executive team and governing board.
Much of our success can be attributed to Cottsway’s
investment and commitment to co-regulation and scrutiny.
The structure of scrutiny within the business was set up
to enable our evidence-based scrutiny reports – with our
recommendations for improvement – to go directly to
Cottsway’s governing board. This structure has now been
seen nationally as a Best Practice model.
We have also successfully operated in the most amazingly
fast-changing political environment the sector has ever
seen.
Many legislative changes have affected not only the way
Cottsway’s business is run internally but it has also heavily
impacted upon many residents of social housing – Welfare
Reform, Localism, the Bedroom Tax, the Benefit Cap. And
there is more to come with the Housing and Planning
Bill, currently making its way through the Houses of
Parliament.
There is still much work to be done, however; I am
confident that my vice-chair, Joanne Bunyan, with her
experience and skill in service improvement with the
NHS, will continue to embed co-regulation throughout
all aspects of the business. Research published last year
was able to prove a business case for registered housing
providers to incorporate resident involvement through
all aspects of their business. The Amicus Horizon case
study was able to capture a £2.2million per year saving
to the business from their resident involvement structure.
Research has also shown there are many benefits
residents can gain from their involvement too.
I want to thank each and every panel member for their
hard work, dedication and support. With Cottsway’s
continued steadfast commitment to co-regulation and the
panel under the strong leadership of Jo, I am confident
scrutiny will continue to grow from strength to strength.
Leslie Channon MA, CIHCM
Outgoing Resident Scrutiny Panel Chair
Outgoing Chair’s
Statement

3. 3
After three years as a member of the Resident Scrutiny
Panel, and one of which as Vice Chair, I am delighted to
have the opportunity to become Chair from 1 May 2016. I
have been a Cottsway resident for eight years and value
the opportunity to be an involved resident and contribute
to the Residents Scrutiny Panel’s purpose of “improving
services and communication between Cottsway and
residents”. My background is in facilitation, service
improvement and project management within the NHS.
I am a Prince 2 practitioner, experienced in LEAN and in
developing effective teams. I am accredited in delivering
Belbin team roles and hold certificates in coaching,
facilitation, training delivery and learner engagement. All
of these skills will foster the ongoing development of the
Resident Scrutiny Panel.
On behalf of myself and my panel colleagues, I would
like to personally thank my predecessor, Leslie Channon,
for her drive, passion, hard work, determination and
leadership that she has given to the panel, as well as for
her support to prepare me for the role of Chair.
So what does the next year look like for the scrutiny
panel?
We have recently recruited three new panel members to
our team. They are currently in the process of learning all
of the different aspects of undertaking a scrutiny project
as we begin our scoping into scrutiny six.
Recruitment will also be a key part of our annual plan
this year. To further enhance our strong team, we will be
looking for residents who want to be involved and make
a difference to help Cottsway improve and deliver better
services.
Please visit and sign up to our new Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/CottswayResidentScrutinyPanel
We will be updating the page regularly, keeping you
abreast of what’s happening, what we are doing, and how
we are making a difference. Please contact us with your
ideas and ways you would like to help. You can also visit
us on the Resident Scrutiny Panel page on the Cottsway
website www.cottsway.co.uk
We will continue to develop our knowledge and skills as
a team, ensuring that we reflect after each scrutiny to
continually look for ways to improve how we work. We
endeavour to demonstrate the impact of scrutiny, not only
to residents but also within Cottsway’s business systems in
a more concrete way going forward.
I look forward to serving as your Scrutiny Panel Chair,
Jo Bunyan
Chair of the RSP
Incoming Chair’s
Statement

4. 4
Jo Bunyan
Chair of the RSP
I have been a Cottsway resident for
eight years and have been a member
of the RSP since 2013. I have teenage
twins who are also involved in
Cottsway’s Youth Forum.
My background is in facilitation, service
improvement and project management
within the NHS. I am a qualified
Prince 2 practitioner. I enjoy being able to utilise my skills and
experience to benefit the RSP, residents and Cottsway staff. In
return, being an RSP member has also further supported my
development and has enabled me to transfer new skills back to
my full time role.
Chris Spencer
Chair of Finance Sub-group
I’m now retired but throughout my
working career I have gathered
40 years experience in a sales and
marketing role. I hope that I can use
the knowledge and experience in my
job and personal life to create a better
future for all Cottsway residents.
Dave Chapman
Having been a resident inspector with
Cottsway prior to the forming of the
scrutiny panel, I experienced the way
in which Cottsway encouraged tenants
to participate and challenge them into
finding ways to improve the service
they provide the tenants, it seemed a
natural progression for me to become
more involved and apply for the RSP.
Since joining the panel, the support I
have received from Cottsway and my fellow panel members has
made the whole experience worthwhile despite some challenges
along the way. Hopefully we can continue to challenge Cottsway
and ourselves to improve the service to the tenants.
Over the past twelve months there have been many changes
within Cottsway which has also meant changes to the way
the panel operates. This has given the panel challenges to
maintain and fulfil our mandate as a scrutiny panel. With these
internal changes and Government legislation affecting housing
associations I believe we have many exciting times ahead and
would encourage other tenants, who may have considered joining
the panel, this may be the time to give it a try.
Gillian Browning
RSP Secretary
I have been a member of the RSP
for five years now and I must say it
has been a great experience. During
this time I have been given so much
support from the other panel members
plus lots of training from Cottsway. This
has helped me gain knowledge about
how housing associations operate so
that I can make a positive contribution
to the panel. I would definitely encourage other residents to join
this panel as you would be well supported and your voice could
make a difference.
Shelley Alcock
Social Media lead
I’m a single working mum of two
children. I have been a Cottsway resident
for over two years. I live in a shared
ownership house in Cheltenham. My role
besides being part of RSP is a support
worker in a primary school. I have a
working background in education, early
years and management. I am heading
towards my first year as a panel member
and have enjoyed it. This role has given me the opportunity to
develop my career, attend courses, enhance my CV and most
importantly change the future for myself and other Cottsway
residents.
David Wesson
Member of Finance Sub-roup
I am retired. I have been a member of
the RSP now for eight months. I have
served as treasurer and auditor of
voluntary groups.
I have attended Council meetings to
ensure all planning applications are in
accordance with current legislation.
Charles Smith
I am the newest member of the panel
and 49 years of business experience
will help me in my RSP role working
with residents, Cottsway and other
stakeholders, as we endeavour to make
a difference for the social housing
sector. Resident involvement is key.
The challenges will be great: the
benefits to both residents and Cottsway
even greater. I look forward to working
with my RSP colleagues.
“Cottsway’s Resident Scrutiny Panel make evidence
based recommendations to improve services and
communication between Cottsway and residents”
Meet your Resident Scrutiny Panel

5. 5
What we have been up to
 We are on Facebook
As the youngest panel member I have taken the role
of Facebook administrator, I believe the best way to
communicate with Cottsway residents is through social
media and will be posting regular updates on what
we are currently working on, improvements made
following our recommendations, extracts from our
annual reports and also asking you as residents for your
suggestions on what you would like us to scrutinise.
The area we are about to scrutinise is Service Charges,
we would be interested to hear your thoughts, please
feel free to message us.
www.facebook.com/CottswayResidentScrutinyPanel
We listen to
each other
We are not afraid
to challenge
We respect each
other’s opinions
We seek
support when
needed
We don’t interrupt
each other in
meetings
We are
punctual at
meetings
We keep
meetings to
time
We reflect and
improve how we
scrutinise
Accountability
• Respond to emails
• Fulfilling roles/tasks allocated
We use iPads to
communicate –
i.e. FaceTime
Our Team Culture
We trust
each other
• We’ve reviewed all of our internal processes
• Completed Scrutiny 5 Voids (Empty Properties)
• We held and self-facilitated our annual Away-Day
• Set out our annual plan
• Appointed three new panel members
• The whole panel attended ‘Wider World’ training
to learn about the new Welfare Reform changes
and the Housing and Planning Bill
• Members attended the Housing Quality Network’s
Resident Network annual conference
• We have successfully navigated a huge internal
transitional move within Cottsway’s structure. We
now sit outside of the housing team and are now
operating more autonomously under the finance
directorate
• We have created a new organisational chart
which underpins and strengthens the governance
structure

6. 6
Progress and Impa
Scrutiny 4: Complaints
Recommendations made in the Scrutiny 4 report, learning from complaints, contributed to a wider review of
complaint handling. The Cottsway management response to the scrutiny report described a re-write of policy
and change to procedure that would ensure learning is integral to our approach. It also provided for training
of complaint handlers and made complaints more customer focussed. An action plan recorded the scrutiny
recommendations to ensure they were delivered within the wider improvement plan.
In April 2015 the new complaint process was introduced. We now try to resolve any concerns raised within two
working days, with our customer service advisors taking responsibility for investigating and responding. Under the
old process these would have been logged for a 10-day response.
When we investigate a concern, whether it is a concern that requires investigation or a formal
complaint, we capture the learning to inform the way we operate and to find better or more effective
ways of doing things.
Learning is also about what we are doing well, so that we can do more of it. We started to record
compliments, where the reason a customer called was to report a good experience of service.
The changes made to the way we respond to customer concerns and formal complaints
has improved service to customers, and reduced the cost of administration by
around £42,640 compared to the previous year.
Scrutiny 5: Voids
The Voids report has been presented to Cottsway’s board and the
management team has responded to the report. The Voids management
team thanked the scrutiny panel for looking into Cottsway’s in-house voids
service and welcomed this review which they acknowledged has been
helping in enable them to drive for continuous improvement.
In the first initial management response, they have accepted or partially
accepted 12 out of 14 RSP recommendations in the Voids report.
The implementation of the accepted recommendations is in the process of
being agreed.
Imp
Resid
Quality
Sustainability
of Change

7. 7
act with Scrutinies
Document
current
processes
Implement
new processes
Review and
analyse
Explore
alternatives
Design
revised
processes
Continuous
Improvement
Cycle
pact
dents
Staff
Value for
Money
Monitoring impact going
forward
The RSP will continue to monitor the progress and impact of each scrutiny
in collaboration with Cottsway. To support this project, measures will
be identified at the beginning of each scrutiny in order to establish a
baseline to measure progress against. All RSP recommendations will be
logged and tracked including those not taken forward as these may be
recommendations that can be implemented at a later date.
All scrutinies carried out by the RSP will be formally reviewed at an
agreed point in time to ensure continuous improvement.

8. 8
The next area the panel are going to cover is Services Charges.
The panel have already attended a service charge masterclass which
allowed them to gain knowledge of the complex world of variable service
charges.
Service charges cover a wide range of services which the panel are
breaking down into several scrutinies.
S1. Unrecoverable services charges
S2. Under-recovered service charges
S3. Supporting (evidencing) charges
S4. Scrutinising shared service charges for communal spaces
S5. Communicating service charges, customer access to information
S6. Customer satisfaction with service charges
S7. Assisted gardening and assisted decorations
The RSP are currently developing a high-level programme plan detailing
the individual projects for Scrutiny 6.
Value for Money
Changes made to the way we handle complaints has
reduced the amount of administration. Most of the
concerns that need investigation are managed by our
customer service advisors, and in a shorter time.
This reduces the risk of communication breakdown
and improves the service we are able to provide.
Importantly, because the number of people
involved in the administration is reduced, the cost
of responding is less and the service provides
better value for money.
In the first year under the new process we looked
at the number of concerns raised and applied the
cost of administration under the old process, and
under the new. We recorded a reduction in the cost
of administering complaints of around £42,640. The
time and money not spent on greater administration
of these cases is better used in improving services.
The outcome of investigating complaints, and the learning
we take, has informed the way we work and will become
visible to customers in improved services. We look for themes,
like poor communication, and for recurring matters, like not being
able to complete a repair at first visit. These examples have informed
the way staff are supported to deliver excellent service. The value for money
savings from these will follow with improved service, reduction in repetition and re-visit.
Service charges
Our next Scrutiny

9. 9
Top 10 tips for a successful Scrutiny
Look at issues that matter to residents; making a real difference in their lives
Have a clear, realistic, and achievable plan in place
Be open-minded – open to new ideas and viewpoints
Invest in quality training
Think independently of Cottsway, whilst also maintaining a good relationship
Team-building, team-work, and support – utilising everyone’s strengths
Have full buy-in from Cottway’s board and staff
Dedicated – invaluable support and knowledge
Robust governance shows accountability
Base findings on facts and evidence. We ‘triangulate’ evidence
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Triangulate = capture evidence from numerous (more than two)
sources to firm and strengthen the facts.
Our Five Key Drivers
What will make
a difference to
residents?
Use feedback
from
residents
What will lead
to improved
services &
organisational
performance?
What is
manageable &
achievable?
Take into
account strategic
direction &
department
restructures

10. 10
How we Scrutinise
Scoping
meeting: to
decide what
we want to
scrutinise
Desk
top review:
to look at
the relevant
documents,
policies and
processes
Complete
project
plan with
timelines
Scrutiny roles
assigned to
members
Process
mapping:
mapping the steps
in processes and
capturing issues
Staff
interviews
Resident
interviews:
face to face or
telephone
Focus
groups
Stakeholder
interviews
Job shadowing:
follow a staff
member’s routine
job duties
Benchmarking:
comparing
against similar
housing
associations
Audit: monitor,
take stock and
look for patterns or
inequalities within
a specified area
Moderations
meetings: external
facilitator leads
the panel to test the
evidence and / or
see where we need
to investigate
further
Write the report:
document evidence,
findings, and provide
recommendations
Present
the report
to board
Action plan
and implement
recommendations
Monitor
progress
and impact on
implementation of
recommendations
Carry
out a post
scrutiny review:
to consider how we
can improve how
we scrutinise using
learning from
the scrutiny

11. 11
Recruiting Now!
Want to be part of a team of residents who have the power to challenge
Cottsway’s performance, bring about improvements in quality, add value for
money to the services provided to residents, and earn £1000 per year at the
same time?
If the answer is yes then come and join us.
What sort of commitment is it?
Being on the panel requires a higher level of commitment than
the other resident involvement groups that are within Cottsway.
Meeting times are flexible and are decided upon by the panel.
The panel meet eleven times per year and in between you will
be expected to attend extra meetings or activities for example:
training, visits to other organisations, staff and tenant focus
groups.
What’s in it for me?
You will learn new skills, utilise existing skills, make new friends
and help Cottsway improve services for all residents. For this you
will receive an allowance of £1,000 per year plus reasonable expenses
(travel, child care etc). and also be provided with an iPad. Please note
this does not affect benefit entitlement.
Who can apply?
All Cottsway residents can apply and members will be
selected on the basis of skills and experience they
can offer. A positive attitude, energy, enthusiasm
and a commitment to improving our services
are more important than qualifications.
I’m interested, what do
I do next?
Email: Jo Bunyan at
scrutiny@cottsway.co.uk
Contact us via our facebook page:
Cottsway Housing Resident Scrutiny Panel
Alternatively call Cottsway on 01993 890000
and leave a message for the Scrutiny Panel
to contact you.
What would you like to see us scrutinise?
For suggestions please email us at
scrutiny@cottsway.co.uk

12. Resident
Scrutiny
Panel
Cottsway House, Heynes Place, Avenue Two, Witney, OX28 4YG
Telephone: 01993 890000 • Freephone: 0800 8 766 366 • scrutiny@cottsway.co.uk
www.cottsway.co.uk
Cottsway Housing Association is a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.
Definition from:
Oxford Concise Dictionary
RESIDENT
‘A permanent inhabitant
of a town or
neighbourhood’
SCRUTINY
‘ A close investigation or
examination of details’
PANEL
‘A group of people
forming a team
in a discussion’
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Resident
Scrutiny
Panel