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Partnership Is Making South Tyneside A Safer Place
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Tenancy Enforcement Officer, Tony Carter, with members of the committee and staff from South Tyneside Homes and South Tyneside Council.Members of a housing committee have been finding out more about a partnership approach that is helping to make the Borough a safer place to live.
South Tyneside Homes' Great Services Committee recently visited the Council's Anti-social Behaviour Unit at the Central Library in South Shields which is home to the housing company's Tenancy Enforcement Team, a Police Officer and a Victims' Champion who offers confidential help and support to any victims of anti-social behaviour.
The committee members discussed the work of the teams and how they are successfully tackling anti-social behaviour and tenancy breaches in South Tyneside.
They were told that between April and December 2011, there was an 8% reduction in new cases reported whilst total crime reduced by 12% in December 2011 compared to December 2010. Following an increased focus on hotspot patrols, the number of incidents reported to the Community Wardens almost halved.
Councillor Joyce Welsh and Councillor Jim Foreman, who are both members of the Great Services Committee and South Tyneside Homes' Board, were pleased to find out that the partnership approach is having such a positive impact.
Councillor Foreman, who also chairs the Great Services Committee, said: "As a group we are committed to ensuring that South Tyneside Homes continues to achieve its aim of delivering high-quality housing services to council tenants and leaseholders in the Borough. The visit to the Anti-social Behaviour Unit allowed us to see first-hand how effective partnership working can help towards achieving this aim and all of the teams involved should be congratulated for making estates in South Tyneside even safer."
Vice-Chair, Councillor Welsh added: "I very much enjoyed the visit to the Anti-social Behaviour Unit as it was both interesting and informative. Now that all of the different teams are under one roof it means there is a faster response time, so victims of anti-social behaviour can get the help and support they need without any delays."
The Great Services Committee is responsible for scrutinising all of the services provided by South Tyneside Homes. Every two months the committee will be visiting teams across the company to find out more about the services they deliver to customers.
John Musson, Director of Housing at South Tyneside Homes, said: "As the committee is responsible for scrutinising all housing services, we felt it was important to take a proactive approach and spend time visiting teams in their offices.
"The meet and greet session at the Anti-social Behaviour Unit was extremely successful and demonstrated that partnership working can help deliver positive results for residents in South Tyneside."
