Your involvement helps us improve
Your voice shapes our services through three key panels.
Your involvement helps us improve
Your voice shapes our services through three key panels.
Customer Scrutiny Panel
Each year, the panel chooses areas it feels could be improved for customers, attending meetings with service leads and producing reports with recommendations that our Leadership Team then implements.
This year, the panel have achieved:
Better customer communications – working with our Communications Team and consulting other groups such as the Seniors in Partnership group and Youth Scrutiny Panel, it has:
- Reviewed documents and graphics for clarity.
- Shared invaluable feedback on our Quarter Turn magazine for older tenants, which will continue to be published four times a year.
- Supported the launch of our new Instagram profile (@bolton_at_home), which replaced X (Twitter).
- Worked with us to improve our website – making it easier for you to read and navigate.
- Helped to create new accessibility guidelines for colleagues so that all of our communications are clear, inclusive, and easy to understand.
The panel reflected:
“We felt listened to and understood. All our recommendations have been acted upon and the organisation has gone the extra mile to ensure all tenant groups are accommodated.’’
Brand transition support – the panel provided feedback on our Be One Homes rebrand rollout (launching in April 2026), including suggestions on how we keep you updated and the development of our new website, which will have more advanced accessibility features.
Influencing our policies – the panel has given valuable feedback into nine key policies, including CCTV, compensation, customer vulnerability, safeguarding, unacceptable behaviour and more.
A role in compliance – the panel reviewed and approved our self-assessments against the new Consumer Standards and the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code, which is a legal requirement. It also looked at our Tenant Perception Survey process, methodology, and results.
Other panel activities included:
- A ‘Day on the Road’ with our Voids Team to understand the process of turning around empty properties for incoming tenants.
- Visiting our Bolton UCAN Centre to encourage more tenant engagement there.
- Meeting our Group Leadership Team, Board, and Operations Committee.
- Attending the annual Tenants Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) Conference and a Q&A session with our Group Chief Executive.
- Engaging in ongoing training and personal development.
Regulator recognition
The Regulator of Social Housing praised our approach, saying:
“In relation to the Transparency, Influence, and Accountability Standard, we gained assurance that Bolton at Home takes tenants’ views into account in decision-making about how services are delivered and comwmunicates how tenants’ views have been considered.
“Bolton at Home has set up a variety of opportunities for its tenants to engage with it and influence decisions that impact upon them, including the Customer Scrutiny Panel and Resident Voices Channel.”.
Youth Scrutiny Panel
Launched in 2022, this panel captures the perspective of our younger tenants, aged 16-25.
Over the last 12 months, our Youth Scrutiny Panel has:
Supported the development of the Be One Homes website with panel members sharing what they expect from the website. They advised on a mobile-first design, minimal scrolling, clear button descriptions and calming colour schemes.
Helped with social media growth – the group worked with us to create some content ideas for our new Instagram account, with the aim of engaging a younger audience.
Co-created our Good Neighbour Guide – which includes advice for new tenants on building good relationships with local neighbours. Tap here to download a copy of our Good Neighbour Guide.
Learned about our process for empty properties – members joined our Customer Scrutiny Panel for a ‘Day on the Road’ with our Voids Team.
Reflecting on their progress, panel members said:
“Having the Youth Scrutiny Panel is important because it amplifies the voices of younger tenants. We share views and experiences that might otherwise be missed, helping to make services fairer and more relevant for younger people.
“Over the past year, the panel has become stronger. Our different cultural backgrounds and life experiences make our work richer and more reflective of the younger tenant community.
“We’re proud of what we do. We bring fresh perspectives to the organisation, but we also engage in different ways, using apps, social media, and messaging instead of more traditional methods.
“Being part of the Youth Scrutiny Panel empowers us. It gives young people a voice and the chance to influence the services we use, not just for ourselves but for other young tenants too.”
Resident Voices Channel
With 371 members, this online platform lets you have your say while earning points that can be exchanged for shopping vouchers.
You can join our Resident Voices Channel if you live in one of our properties or use our services. Just tap here if you’d like more information on becoming a member of our Resident Voices Channel. We’d love to have you on board.
In the last year, members have made an impact (and got rewarded in return) by:
- Supporting the development of the Be One Homes website: providing their considered feedback on the features and content of the existing Bolton at Home website so that we could identify gaps and opportunities for improvements. After listening to their ideas and putting them into action, we then asked members to explore an early demo version of our new Be One Homes website. Members’ feedback was positive, along with further suggestions that would help ensure the website offers the best experience possible.
- Reviewing our policies and strategies: including our Transparency Policy, Vulnerability Policy, and Tenant, Resident, and Community Engagement (TRaCE) Strategy.
- Sharing feedback on our UCAN centres: including general awareness of the centres, satisfaction with services from those who have used them, and giving an indication of future use to help plan services.
Your community, your voice, your choice – let’s build something better together.
Reflecting on their influence in a consultation regarding our new Be One Homes website, Resident Voices Channel members told us:
“It’s good to know that when you ask for ideas, you do listen to what people want.”
“I particularly appreciate how the design reflects input from tenants like me.”