`Put these
nodding
donkeys out to grass`
Some people call them nodding donkeys. Some
call them useful idiots. Whatever name they get, they have always had an
important role in the affairs of the
giant Riverside Housing Association.
These donkeys are tenants
hand-picked by Riverside to represent their fellow tenants in negotiations with the bosses.
Liverpoo-based Riverside has
always maintained that these hand-picked tenants were independent.
But that claim proved to be false particularly when the Riverside
Carlisle regional director
appeared before the city council a couple of years back and claimed his
scrutiny panel members were independent. But councillors refused to accept this.
Now comes a new deal for
Riverside`s 6,000 tenants and the question arises:how much longer can the nodding donkeys exist.
The deal was put forward last
week by Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, parent body of housing associations.The deal
has been accepted by 44 housing associations including Riverside.
The deal is in the Together with
Tenants draft plan which sets out to transform the balance of power between
tenants and associations.
The plan would place a new requirement in the
National Housing Association`s code of governance (which the majority of
associations adopt) for boards to be accountable to tenants and residents.
There will be a new tenant
charter setting out what tenants and residents can expect from their landlords.
It says that tenants and residents
should have “the power, information and agency to hold their landlord to
account, and the charter will provide a mechanism to make this happen”. It
talks about the need for a “culture of respect”.
The National Housing Federation
is also working with the Centre for Public Scrutiny to convene a new tenant
advisory panel to guide the development of the plan.
Alongside this, there are calls for a national voice for tenants to be set up.
Actions count rather than words
is the verdict on the draft plan of the influencial social housing
magazine Inside Housing. And it is actions which really matter says the
magazine in a lukewarm welcome to the draft plan.
Lukewarm too are critics of Riverside who recall the many years of that
organisation`s hostility to tenant groups.
A spokeman for Carlisle Tenants
and Residents Federation which publishes this blog said today: “One of the first actions of Riverside when it took over the council houses in
Carlisle was to abolish all tenant groups and then continue with a bossy regime
in which the only tenant representatives were the nodding donkeys(useful
idiots).
“It is now time that these
donkeys were put out to grass. Or if you prefer it, it is time the useful idiots were
given a medical prescription and told:
“Keep taking the tablets.
Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation publishes this blog. Information about the Federation is available on 01228 522277 or 01228 532803 |
