Customer Committee Terms of Reference

The Customer Committee (“the Committee”) is a committee of the Board of Great Places Housing Group (“the Board” and “GPHG”) from which it derives its authority and to which it reports.

The Committee has the authority to:

• Ask colleagues to attend to discuss any matters as relevant to the agenda.
• Delegate any of its powers to one or more of its members if it deems this appropriate.
• Recommend potential topics to the Customer Scrutiny Group to adopt as part of their programme.

The principal purpose of the Committee is to assist the Board in discharging its responsibilities in how it exercises oversight over customer services and the customer experience.

This includes:

• Ensuring regulatory compliance
• Monitoring performance against customer strategies that are not Board reserved
• Ensuring effective customer engagement and involvement

The Committee will focus on areas that are important to customers including:

• Tenancy and neighbourhood management
• Quality of homes
• Customer services
• Repairs service
• Asset management

The Committee will:

• Provide a strategic link between the Board and customers
• Hold Great Places to account on all customer-related matters

3.1 Membership

• Members are appointed by the Board and comprise:
• A minimum of 4 and maximum of 9 members
• A maximum of 2 Board Members, with the remainder being customer members
• At least 50% of members must be customer members

Other provisions:

• The Committee Chair will be one of the 2 Group Board Members
• The GPHG Board Chair may be a member but shall not chair the Committee
• Independent members may be appointed to bring specific lived experience
• Co-optees may be invited where necessary
• Observers may attend at the discretion of the Chair

Customer members:

• May be any resident from the Great Places portfolio (including Plumlife)
• Are appointed based on lived experience and skills
• Do not represent specific geographies, tenure or demographics
• Must meet eligibility requirements and are monitored quarterly

3.2 Attendees

The following will normally attend:

• Chief Customer Officer
• Chief Property Officer (or their proxies)
• Other colleagues as appropriate

3.3 Conflicts of Interest

Where there is a material conflict of interest, the individual concerned withdraws, or may be excluded, from discussions and decisions, including the Group Chief Executive or other colleagues.

3.4 Quorum

• The quorum shall be at least 50% of Committee members
• Co-optees do not count towards quorum

• At least four in-person meetings shall be held per year on a quarterly basis
• Additional online meetings will typically be held between these meetings
• Meetings may include in-camera discussions without officers present
• Additional ad-hoc, task-and-finish meetings and away days may be held at the request of the Chair

The Committee shall ensure:

• New members receive a suitable induction
• Existing members receive ongoing training where appropriate

The Committee is entitled to:

• Utilise professional advisers
• Commission or purchase reports, surveys or information

Costs will be borne by GPHG within Board-approved budgetary and procurement constraints.

The Chair shall also have access to paid legal advice from the organisation’s appointed legal advisors as required.

The Customer Committee has a broad remit and has delegated authority from Great Places Housing Group Board to make decisions relating to customer experience, except where these are reserved. The committee has responsibility for performance oversight and assurance in relation to customer services and customer experience.

The main responsibilities of the Committee include:

6.1 Strategy and Policy

Holding the Chief Executive and senior leadership team to account for the effective management and delivery of Great Places strategic aims and objectives as they relate to customers.

The Committee shall review and recommend the following strategies to Group Board for approval:

• Customer Experience Strategy
• Customers and Communities Strategy
• Asset Management Strategy

The Committee shall review and hold GPHG to account for the following strategies:

• Independence and Wellbeing Strategy
• Plumlife Strategy
• Sustainability Strategy

The Committee shall review relevant customer-related policies, providing insight as required, including:

• Customer Feedback Policy
• Repairs Policy.

The Committee shall review and oversee Great Places performance and approach in relation to areas including:

• Customer Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• Lettings
• Anti-Social Behaviour
• Management of Low Cost Home Ownership

The Committee will also:

• Escalate any issues that come to the attention of the Committee to Group Board as appropriate.
• Be engaged on key areas of customer related elements of strategies, corporate and financial planning as a Committee of the Board, including being informed of financial and regulatory performance on an ongoing basis.

6.2 Compliance and Risk

The Committee will be required:

• To review the annual report on compliance with the consumer standards, providing a specific customer perspective and assessing whether this aligns with the Committee’s understanding of customer experience and service delivery. This feedback to then be incorporated and provided for approval by the Audit and Assurance Committee
• To receive regular reports and maintain oversight of customer complaints, including determinations and recommendations of the Housing Ombudsman Service, ensuring that these are implemented.
• To review and oversee the annual complaints self-assessment and the annual customer complaint and service improvement report required by the Housing Ombudsman and table this for approval at Group Board.

6.3 Performance

The Committee will be required:

• To monitor customer satisfaction and experience including , key performance information, data and trends, taking into account any benchmarking information available. This will include oversight of key customer related data and also appropriate property related data, such as customer satisfaction in relation to void properties, as well as major works and planned programmes.
• To maintain oversight of performance against the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM’s)
• To receive regular ‘service spotlight’ presentations at committee meetings which deliver a deep-dive presentation on the performance of specific areas of the business.
• To receive regular information on progress against corporate priorities outlined in the Corporate Plan “Here for our Customers”.

6.4 Customer Communications and Engagement Activities

The Committee will be required:

• To maintain oversight and provide assurance to Board that customer engagement activity is well-embedded.
• To maintain oversight of the activity, budgets and social value impacts of customer-facing programmes (such as the Greater Together Foundation, Kindness fund etc.)

In addition to the areas set out in the Committee responsibilities, the Committee may consider other matters relating to customer services and customer experience where this is required to:

• respond to areas of under performance or emerging risk identified through performance monitoring or assurance activity;
• undertake further scrutiny or request additional information where the Committee considers this necessary; or
• discharge any additional matters delegated to the Committee by the Board from time to time.

6.5 Relationship with Customer Scrutiny Group (Insight)

The Customer Committee will exist in addition to the Customer Scrutiny Group (Insight). Insight will continue to report directly to the Board, but there will be close links between the two as outlined in the diagram in the full version.

The periodic Insight Summary Reports which are presented to Board, will be shared with the Customer Committee, for information, to allow continued oversight on progress of scrutiny activities to support the Committee’s understanding of key themes, learning and outcomes for customers.

The Customer Committee can:

• make referrals to the Customer Scrutiny Group (Insight) for suggested report topics where risks are identified, with those reports being delivered directly to Board and notified to the Committee.
• receive reports from Insight and the wider business on how recommendations from audits and insight reviews have been implemented to improve outcomes for customers.

6.6 Performance assessment

Customer Members will complete an annual self-assessment and appraisal with the Committee Chair.

• Annually consider the skills, knowledge and experience of the committee members and advise the Board on any changes considered necessary, including the appointment of a co-opted member or members.
• Annually review the effectiveness of the committee ensuring that all responsibilities have been effectively discharged. Identify any specific learning and development needs.
• Review annually and propose any changes to the committee’s responsibilities.

6.7 Additional Duties

• The committee may undertake any other duties or activities , where there is a clear interest in the performance of the organisation as it related to customer services and experience, and this is agreed by Group Board.

The Committee shall:

• Alert the Board to significant concerns relating to customer service or compliance
• Refer key policies or strategies to Board as required
• Provide minutes of each meeting to the Board and provide a short written summary of matters discussed from the Chair
• Provide additional written assurance reports where appropriate
• Report annually on effectiveness, priorities and targets

The Committee shall:

• Review its effectiveness annually
• Identify learning and development needs
• Review these Terms of Reference annually
• Propose any changes to the Board