Housing Policy Panel Welcomes New Members
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Members of the HPP with Supporting Communities staff.
As part of our role as the Independent Tenant Organisation for Northern Ireland, Supporting Communities has developed a Housing Policy Panel (HPP) made up of tenants living within the social housing sector in Northern Ireland.
The Housing Policy Panel’s role is to act as a consultative body for the Department for Communities with a focus on social housing related matters. The Panel also represents the interests of social housing tenants in the development of Departmental policies and provides a voice to ensure that tenants’ rights and concerns are represented and considered at a strategic level.
At their most recent meeting this August, we were delighted to welcome four new members to the group representing Alpha Housing, Ark Housing, Connswater Homes, and Radius Housing Association. These four representatives join members from Habinteg Housing Association (Ulster) Ltd, the Housing Executive, Clanmil Housing Association, and Choice Housing.
Since its inaugural meeting in September 2017, the panel has responded to a number of consultations, developed an action plan to take forward, and taken part in training and site visits to learn more about various approaches to tenant participation and engagement.
“The Housing Policy Panel is a clear example of how tenants can influence housing related matters at a strategic level. Supporting Communities is delighted with the commitment of the Department in working alongside this Panel to make important changes and improvements to housing services in Northern Ireland.” said Colm McDaid.
“With the creation of the Housing Policy Panel the Department continues to demonstrate its commitment to giving social housing tenants a voice. The Panel has already made significant contributions to a number of consultations and other social housing policy areas”, said Shane Clements, Department for Communities .
The Housing Policy Panel has recently launched their Annual Report for 2018-19.
