As a group of Aster customers, it’s great to have a level of influence on policies that impact all our customers.  

During the last year we approved the Complaints, Right to Buy/Right to Acquire, Pets, Domestic Abuse and ASB policies. We also reviewed the Section 20 policy but didn’t initially approve it as we weren’t assured by some elements. However, Aster listened to our recommendations and we approved an amended version.   

We were asked to shortlist the Aster Way Apprentice of the Year Award. It’s getting harder each year to choose our three as there were so many fantastic things about all the nominees, they all deserved to win. We also enjoyed scoring applications for this year’s for our inc. cohort.

It’s been great to have members of the Customer Scrutiny Panel and Designated Complaints Panel join our COG meetings, and COG members have enjoyed going to theirs. Working collaboratively like this will help each group identify areas to focus their activities.  

Our role is to identify service areas that we would like to learn more about and get reassurance that the service is being delivered in the best interests of Aster customers. This year these have included:

• Service charges
• Key Performance Indicators (KPI) setting for Customer Services
• Feeding back on the proposed tenant satisfaction measures consultation
• Housemark - comparing Aster's performance against other Housing Associations in several service areas
• Tpas engagement standards, self-assessment and review process.

The sessions were invaluable and helped us to understand the subjects discussed a lot better.

The Social Housing White Paper has featured a lot in our meetings, and we will have a role to play in supporting and challenging Aster to ensure that the requirements are being met. In the future, a key item on our agenda will focus on building safety, and how they continue to keep customers safe in their homes and meet the requirements of the Building Safety Act 2022.

We have a forward plan for 2022/23 that includes reviewing customer service policies and other subjects such as:

• Environment and sustainability  
• Property investment
• Health and safety
• Fire safety.