I’ve been part of our Residents’ Scrutiny Panel for almost a year, working alongside a diverse group of nine residents from London, Brighton and other areas across the UK. We live in different types of Southern Housing homes, come from varied backgrounds and experiences, and volunteer our time because we care deeply about improving services for our communities.
We’ve recently completed our latest scrutiny, focusing on service charge communications. service charges can be a complicated and sometimes contentious topic, and many residents don’t always feel confident about understanding the charges. Because of this, Southern Housing asked the Scrutiny Panel to take an in depth look at how information is shared, how clear it is, and how well queries are handled.
I led this project, supported by our chair, and it has been a genuinely rewarding experience. We carried out detailed desktop research, reviewed policies and legislation, examined the documents residents receive, and met face to face with teams from Finance and Customer Support. Together we mapped out the journey a resident takes when raising a query, and we also surveyed residents whose cases had recently been closed.
Throughout the process, staff were open about what works well and where improvements could help them support residents more effectively. Their honesty and collaboration showed us that Southern Housing is genuinely committed to improving services and making service charge information clearer, more accessible and easier to understand.
We’ve now completed our report and presentation, which includes detailed recommendations, examples of good practice and suggested internal changes. These will be shared once formally approved.
Being part of the Scrutiny Panel has shown me how powerful resident involvement can be. When residents and staff work together, services improve, communication strengthens and communities feel heard. We are always keen to welcome new members, and anyone interested in joining the Scrutiny Panel - or one of the other resident panels - can apply online. We’d love to have more voices shaping the future of our services.
Thank you for taking the time to read about our work. We look forward to sharing more soon and continuing to represent our communities with pride.
