Tenant voices from Cornwall out in force at Housing 24

Tenant voices from Cornwall out in force at Housing 24

Not one, but two residents from Cornwall Housing spoke at this year’s national Housing 24 conference in June - making the voices of Cornish social housing tenants heard.

John Harris, Chair of Cornwall Housing’s Tenant Forum, took to the stage on Thursday 27 June at the event in Manchester as part of a panel of speakers to share his thoughts during a session called ‘The new Consumer Regulation regime: what have we learnt so far?’

John has been an involved tenant for over 20 years and has been a member of Cornwall Housing’s Tenant Forum since 2012. 

He was also a Cornwall Housing Board Member for nine years, from 2012 - 2020.

He was in good company with fellow speakers Jamie Ratcliff, Chief communities and sustainability officer for SNG, Julian Paine, Director of affordable housing consultancy at Savills and Jahanara Raikoomar, Director of customer service at Gateway Housing Association.

John took the opportunity to talk about the work the Tenant Forum is doing by reviewing the quality of complaint responses for Cornwall Housing. Members take part in a bi-annual exercise to analyse complaint responses issued by the organisation and consider the opportunities to learn lessons and improve services.

John said: “I was very pleased to have been asked to speak at Housing 24, particularly about the new Consumer Regulation regime, as it’s a topic of great interest to me. Having been involved in social housing governance for many years, it’s never felt more important to ensure we have robust oversight in place to ensure tenant voices are truly being heard.”

He also discussed how the Tenant Forum monitors and challenges the TSM results for Cornwall Housing, regularly reviewing scores and considering what the feedback means for the business.

But John was not alone in representing residents from Cornwall - Joseph De-ville, who is Chair of a voice for tenants, which is a national steering group, and a member of the Cornwall Housing Tenant Forum and Scrutiny Panel, was also in the speaker line up.

Joseph led a talk titled ‘A National Voice for Tenants’ which explored the need for stronger representation for tenants at a national level. The session also considered research on the feasible ways that a national voice for tenants could be delivered and funded in the long term. 

Reflecting on the conference, Joseph said: “It was great to see John and me both at the conference but in different capacities. I really enjoyed being able to discuss the work I am doing with 'A Voice for Tenants' and the importance of having strong tenant representation on a national scale.”

Su Spence, Managing Director for Cornwall Housing, said: “We’re incredibly proud that our residents were asked to speak on this national stage. It is testament to the quality of involved residents in Cornwall and the shared passion for social housing in the region.” 

Find out more information about Cornwall Housing’s involved residents on our Resident Involvement page.