News
The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 was introduced on 20th July 2023 and is intended to be the catalyst for a new proactive approach to the regulation of social housing following some of the most significant events in social housing including the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017 and more recently the death of Awaab Ishak who died from symptoms directly related to damp and mould in the social housing flat where he lived.
In March 2023 Cornwall Rural Housing Associations (CRHA’s) complaints policy and procedure was revised and updated to reflect the new standards for complaint handling as set out in the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code (the Code).
The Code became a statutory document on 1st April 2024 and set outs the statutory requirement for a scheme member landlord to appoint a member of the governing body that has lead responsibility for complaints.
We are pleased to announce that the role of MRC, on behalf of CRHA, has been awarded to Trudy Polkinghorn who has been a Customer Board Member since 2023.
Trudy has lived in North Cornwall for over 30 years and has a background in health and safety and project management. She was formerly a Director for an electrical utilities company contracted to Western Power specialising in arboriculture and environmental issues for 10 years.
Trudy will have oversight of the complaints service that we provide at CRHA, reviewing the communication that we use to ensure it is empathetic, effective and appropriate. Trudy’s role is in place to gain assurance of timely compliance of the Code and promote a culture where every colleague supports effective complaint handling.
Trudy will receive regular updates on the volume, categories and outcome of complaints, alongside complaint handling performance to take an inquisitorial approach when reviewing this information. This information will be presented to our Board of Management in order to provide sufficient assurance of a well-managed and customer focused complaints handling culture.
