What is Scrutiny at RBH?

Scrutiny at RBH means customers and colleagues working together to improve our services. It helps us make sure we are providing services to the right standard. It makes sure that we use the real-life experience of our customers when we make decisions.

Scrutiny at RBH is led by customers and colleagues from our elected Representative Body. They hold reviews into different topics. They are free to ask questions and make recommendations. They can look at any area of RBH. Their recommendations will always get a response from our senior managers. Our Governance Team and Engagement Team help them to do their work.

They can:

  • Look at our services and our policies
  • Speak to customer to get their views and their experience
  • Look at our performance data, including complaints
  • Spend time with colleagues to understand how they do their jobs
  • Test whether what our customers tell us matches with our data
  • Make recommendations about how RBH can improve

Find out more about our scrutiny panels

  • How do we make sure customers are involved?

    We use different ways to make sure that our scrutiny findings reflect the real experience of our customers.

    We offer different ways to take part. Taking part is always voluntary. This can include:

    • Surveys and questionnaires
    • Focus groups and interviews
    • Job shadowing

    We also test our findings against real experience. We call this “customer validation”. It helps to make sure that our recommendations will make a real difference.

  • Scrutiny reviews we’ve carried out

    RBH customers and colleagues have already completed scrutiny reviews across a range of important services, including:

    • How we deal with complaints
    • Making sure that we can carry out essential safety checks
    • Anti‑Social Behaviour (ASB)
    • How we allocate and let our homes
    • How our repairs team communicates with our customers
    • How we manage sub-contractors

    Each review has resulted in clear findings, recommendations for improvement. Our Representative Body get updates after a review to make sure that improvements have been carried out.

  • Ways to get involved

    Scrutiny is a powerful way to influence how RBH works and help shape services. There are different ways to take part, depending on the time you can offer and how you would prefer to get involved. You can:

    • Join the scrutiny panel for a specific review (this is a longer-term commitment)
    • Take part in short surveys (as little as five minutes)
    • Join a focus group or be interviewed to share your views (a couple of hours)
    • Attend a “customer validation” session (a couple of hours)
    • Take part more regularly by standing as a candidate in the Representative Body elections

    You do not need any formal experience, your experience of being a customer is what matters most. We will always be clear about what is involved before you agree to take part.

  • How we support you to get involved

    We want involvement to be accessible and inclusive. We will:

    • Offer different ways to take part (online, in person, or by phone if we can)
    • Provide clear information and guidance
    • Cover reasonable expenses where appropriate
    • Have a team member available for support

Register your interest

We would love to hear from you If you would like to:

  • Ask questions about services
  • Contribute to a scrutiny review
  • Find out more about becoming a panel member
  • Join the Representative Body

To get involved, please email governance@rbh.org.uk or call us on 0800 027 7769 and ask for the Governance Team.