Resident Consultation in Housing PFI

Under a Housing PFI contract, council tenants will still be tenants of the London Borough of Newham.

They will have all the rights and responsibilities they have now, including for instance the Right to Buy and the Right to Manage. Tenants also have the right to be consulted and to get involved in important decisions about the way their homes and estates are run. These rights will not be affected by PFI.

In the same way the Council will still be the landlord of properties it has sold on long leases, and the terms of the leases will not be changed. The leaseholders will have the same rights and responsibilities as they have now. This includes the general right to be consulted and to get involved in the same way as tenants, but there are also special provisions affecting leaseholders, which are dealt with in a separate section

Consultation under PFI

After the PFI contracts start the Contractors will be responsible for consulting residents about the day to day running of their estates. The contracts will require them to enter into local Tenants' and Leaseholders' Compacts and to organise regular meetings with residents' representatives to whom they will account for the way in which they manage the estates. But the Council will still consult directly about rent setting and major policy changes. PFI tenants and leaseholders will still be able to get involved in big issues through Area TLCs, the Borough-wide Tenant Liasion Committee, and the Leaseholders' Forum etc.

Selecting PFI contractors
Tenants should be free to be involved as much or as little as they want in the process of selecting a suitable PFI contractor. Although there are residents groups in both PFI areas, the consultation process is not centred around both groups, but with the wider communities that are involved.

Tenant representatives cannot choose a PFI contractor without taking the views of other tenants in the area into account. Tenant representatives also cannot veto an appointment of a PFI contractor. What tenants can do is let their views about a bidder or contractor be known to the council. By involving tenants in the process of short-listing bidders, like in Canning Town and Forest Gate, and the evaluation of bids (in Canning Town and for Forest Gate) has formed part of the council's commitment to a genuine and fair consultation process.

Training and support was provided to the Canning Town Residents Steering Group in evaluation teams, to ensure tenants had an informed and constructive role in the decision making process.

Part of the consultation process in selecting a PFI contractor in both Canning Town and Forest Gate, has been for short-listed bidders to come to the group meetings and make presentations, and have the opportunity for residents to ask questions directly to the bidders.

The presentations serve the purpose of direct contact between tenants and the bidders, so any queries or concerns can be addressed directly. The presentations are used to help clarify and define a bid. All bidders are treated equally, so no preference can be given that could damage the selection process of a PFI contractor.