At Your Housing Group (YHG), we’re committed to working with our customers to shape safer, cleaner, and better neighbourhoods. One of the ways we do this is through our Customer Scrutiny Panel (CSP), a dedicated team of trained residents who volunteer their time to review how well our services are working and where we can improve. 

Who are the Customer Scrutiny Panel? 

Our CSP is made up of six passionate customers from across our communities: 

  • Bev Holt – Partington
  • Joanne Doyle – Knowsley
  • Richard Hadfield – Manchester
  • Cheryl Ballan – Moorlands
  • Ken Taylor – St Helens
  • Jean Quinn – Liverpool
  • Cath Farr - St Helens

They look at two customer‑facing services each year, taking around 12 weeks for each review. Their recommendations help us strengthen our services and meet the expectations set by the Regulator of Social Housing. 

Since 2021, CSP have carried out six full reviews and made 98 recommendations, with 94 already completed and four in progress. Their work makes a real difference. 

Latest review: Tackling fly‑tipping 

Fly‑tipping is a growing national problem, affecting communities across the UK, not just YHG neighbourhoods. For this review, CSP explored how well we manage fly‑tipping and how well we explain our approach to customers. 

The Panel began with a desktop review of our policies, service standards, website information, and previous customer feedback. They also heard directly from our Head of Housing on trends, customer satisfaction, and complaints. 

They then went out and about to reality‑check what they found. This included: 

  • Visiting known fly‑tipping hot spots 

  • Speaking with customers and YHG colleagues 

  • Comparing approaches with other social landlords 

What CSP found 

Overall, CSP were reassured by our strong commitment to managing fly‑tipping in our communities and acting where possible. They highlighted several areas of good practice and identified opportunities to strengthen our approach. 

What’s working well 

  • Clear commitment to removing fly‑tipping - CSP felt confident that our teams are working hard to tackle issues quickly and professionally 

  • Multiple ways for customers to report issues - Your Home Hub, Your Response, local surgeries, engagement events and regular surveys, give customers plenty of accessible ways to tell us what’s happening in their area 

  • Strong use of our neighbourhood RAG‑rating matrix - This helps us track hotspots and target resources where they’re needed most 

  • Good examples of local enforcement and partnership working - Teams across YHG are already running “impact days” and joint activities to reduce fly‑tipping. 

Where we can improve  

CSP identified some key opportunities to make our approach even clearer and more consistent: 

  • One clear definition of fly‑tipping 

  • Different documents used different wording, so CSP and YHG worked together to agree a single, consistent definition 

  • Better communication about our enforcement powers 

  • Customers aren’t always aware of what action we can take, or what evidence is needed 

  • More consistent information across our website, policies, and service standards 

CSP’s recommendations 

The Panel made 11 recommendations to help us strengthen our approach to fly-tipping. Key improvements include: 

  • Creating a new fly‑tipping policy, developed with CSP 

  • Developing a clear procedure so colleagues are supported to respond consistently 

  • Including seasonal updates in the customer newsletter 

  • Introducing a fly‑tipping toolkit to support neighbourhood teams 

These recommendations will be presented at February’s Customer Service Committee (CSC) meeting, and we’ll work with the Panel on how best to deliver them. 

Want to get involved? 

Our customers play a huge role in helping us improve our services. If you’d like to join the Customer Scrutiny Panel, or get involved in any of our engagement opportunities, we’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] or visit our Customer Engagement page for more details.

Together, we can keep shaping services that work for everyone.