Shapps: £1.3m to Hand Power Back to Tenants

The Housing Minister has unveiled a new fund of £1.3m to help give more power to communities over their social homes. Grant Shapps hopes the scheme will help bring the passion of the Olympic volunteers to local communities by giving housing association and council tenants a voice to lead change in their area.  Mr Shapps said the Tenant Empowerment Programme would offer a "springboard for success" to communities across the country who want to see their local needs reflected in the services they receive. This could be by helping tenants learn the skills they need to engage and negotiate confidently with their landlords; forming tenant panels to come together to demand the best value-for-money services; or even to take control of local services themselves if they feel that they could deliver more for less.  The Minister also highlighted the benefits to landlords of getting their tenants involved, from community involvement in scrutinising new repairs contracts or tenants working together with local authorities to tackle anti-social behaviour.  Read more on the CLG website.