The introduction of the Welsh Housing Quality Standards (WHQS) by the National Assembly led Carmarthenshire Council to commission Research and Marketing to conduct a comprehensive tenant consultation on the current state of their homes and tenants' future aspirations. In order to obtain as accurate a picture as possible, a number of different approaches were employed:
Staff focus group and depth interviews An initial group was held with staff members from various areas of Housing to ask their opinions on the quality of the current stock, their ideas on how it might be improved to meet the WHQS, and their views on the environments of the Housing Estates. Subsequent depth interviews were conducted with key staff.
Tenant focus groups 5 focus groups with tenants were conducted in different locations, reflecting the different life stages. This was to ensure that the groups were as representative as possible.
Applicant focus groups Finally, 3 focus groups were conducted with applicants, in order to gain an understanding of the expectations of those applying for housing.
Face-to-face interviews with tenants With the information gleaned from the tenant and staff groups and interviews, the in-home questionnaire was designed. This allowed the opportunity to further explore issues that had emerged in the groups, and discover whether the views that had been presented were widely held. The survey was structured to achieve a representation of the actual housing stock across three areas within Carmarthenshire, and of various property types. Our team of interviewers visited tenants in their homes, and completed a total of 1,000 interviews.
"CCC commissioned R&M to undertake this piece of research on our behalf. Getting tenants views on the Welsh Housing Quality was an important part of our Housing Strategy and Service Improvement Plan for 2003/04. With the excellent work undertaken by R&M and the valuable information gained from more than 10% of our tenants, we now know what standards our tenants expect. This will help us in the completion of our Housing Stock Business Plan which in turn will help us to set medium term investment programmes in Carmarthenshire's Housing Stock. With this information we can confidently take informed decisions about the future of Council Housing in Carmarthenshire."
Adrian Young
Housing Investment Manager
