The East of Scotland Scrutiny Network Meeting was organised by the Tenant Participation and Advisory Service (TPAS).

Following presentations made by Tony Kelly from TPAS, Drew Nisbet from Fife Housing Group and Max Scotto from Kingdom Housing Association, covering the purpose and value of scrutiny, lively discussions took place about the range of work groups had been undertaking with their landlords, highlighting the challenges faced and the outcomes achieved.

Having shared lots of worthwhile information participants left invigorated with a new network of contacts and a desire to put the various nuggets of information that they took from the day to good use, helping to further improve services for tenants throughout the East of Scotland.

Max Scotto, Kingdom’s tenant participation officer, said: “At Kingdom, we’re always looking at new and innovative ways to encourage tenant participation. We recently utilised the reach and convenience of private groups on Facebook while undertaking our rent consultation, but meeting with tenants in person will always be a hugely important part of the work we do. This event helped us all to reflect on the value of tenants from different organisations working together in scrutiny activities.

“The example of our Scrutiny Panel working in partnership with tenants from Fife Housing Group shows how enriching this approach has been. It is worth the effort.

“Tenants who are actively involved in scrutiny panels tell us they find the process very enjoyable. It’s an opportunity for them to learn new things, meet new people and, most importantly, act as a voice for their community. I’d encourage anyone who is interested to email me directly, maxscotto@kha.scot, to talk about the many ways to get involved.”