The Director of Regeneration provided an overview of the current issues and recent opportunities which had arisen in relation to the further development of tenant and resident involvement in Wirral. He commented that during 2008 the Council, WPH and WFTRA agreed to commission an independent specialist consultant to review existing tenant and resident involvement arrangements for Wirral, the agreement for partnership working between all partners and the options for future community engagement. The results of the review were presented to representatives of wider tenants and residents groups at an event held on 13 November 2008 to seek views about how both WPH and the Council could best work with tenants and residents in the future. Following on from the event, a postal survey was conducted with a wide range of community groups and representatives, the majority of which had originally been invited to the consultation event. The survey endorsed a number of key themes raised at the event and sought to explore those further.

The Director set out the key findings that were identified from the consultation processes undertaken and reported upon a proposal from the Voluntary Community Action Wirral (VCAW), prompted by the findings of the review, to take on resident and tenant engagement. He commented that Wirral Council both supported and worked in partnership with VCAW of which WFTRA is a member. VCAW was the Council’s preferred partner for local infrastructure and was the mechanism through which the public bodies should engage with its third sector partners in Wirral. He referred also to a number of advantages to VCAW being both the main route for the Council to use for community engagement and in aligning social tenants and residents groups with wider community groups in Wirral.

He commented that there was a proven need for a change to the present arrangements and stressed the need for as many tenants and residents groups as possible to be represented on an inclusive federated organisation and he had arranged a meeting for 1 May 2009 with VCAW and the WFTRA to explore the future role of both organisations in resident and tenant engagement. He indicated that the outcome of the meeting could then be presented to a subsequent meeting of residents’ groups.

With agreement of the Chair, the Chair of WFTRA addressed the Cabinet.

Resolved –

(1) That the Cabinet agrees in principle upon the need for a change to the present arrangements for tenant and resident involvement.

(2) That a further report be presented to include the outcome of meetings held with VCAW and WFTRA and any subsequent discussions with other residents groups.