Groups in the North-east, North-west, Yorkshire, Humberside and South-west have revealed that they are to focus all their energies on getting the boards to hear them.
The South-west tenants' forum, which was formed in January this year, wants a place on its local board. Chairman John Beaman said: "They're a bit negative about it at the moment, but we're not going to give up. That's where all the decisions are made."
According to the Tenant Participation Advisory Service, tenants have been sold short by the work done to prepare the inaugural regional housing strategies, the final drafts of which will be unveiled shortly by the ODPM.
TPAS chief executive Phil Morgan said: "There has clearly been a regional deficit in terms of tenant involvement. These regional housing boards decide on the investment process for substantial sums of public money and we think it's right that tenants are a part of that."
TPAS has asked the North-west board to draw up a compact with the tenants' forum, ensuring consultation. Peter Styche, director of communities at the government office for the North-west and a member of the board, said: "We have invited TPAS to give a presentation to the regional housing board in the next couple of weeks as to how they can best represent the needs of tenants. We will be examining the best way of getting tenants' views into what the board does."
The corporation's review of the subject closes on 15 October. Proposals include penalties for associations that do not involve tenants, impact assessments for all tenant involvement policies, and funding for associations that wish radically to change their policies.
The ODPM will launch a review of tenant compacts, the agreements on tenant involvement that councils have to make with residents' groups on 29 October.
Source
Housing Today
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