What does equality and diversity mean in practice? For Tor Homes, equality might mean ensuring access to offices and buildings for disabled people, or helping with transport to meetings from remote areas. Diversity might mean providing leaflets in a range of languages or in Braille or trying to ensure minority groups are represented on our tenants' panels.
The customer profile
The government recognises that having information about the people for whom we provide services is vital if we are to ensure that those services are effective. It expects housing associations to know the ethnicity, age, gender, employment status, language requirements, religion or belief and sexual orientation of residents. We can then use this information to help adapt our services to meet the needs of our residents and to try to ensure that no group is excluded.
A customer profile survey was distributed to Tor Homes' properties in November 2006 and was sent out again at the end of 2007. The information obtained from the survey included:
- number of occupants
- economic status
- gender
- age
- ethnicity
- disability status
- wheelchair use
- visual impairment
- hearing impairment
- requirement for information in a language other than English.
Most of our tenants responded in full and we have been able to use all this information to improve our services and adapt them according to individual needs.
Another survey?
To fully comply with our obligation to hold a customer profile it is important that we keep the information we hold up to date. Tor Homes plans to send out another survey form in January 2009. As well as asking you to confirm that the details we already hold are correct, we will also ask for information on religion or belief and sexual orientation. Tenants may feel that they do not wish to supply this kind of information and of course they are under no obligation to do so. Access to these details, however, will help us relate to our residents in appropriate ways and work towards eliminating discrimination in the communities we serve.
Tor Homes holds all residents' details in the strictest confidence in accordance with the Data Protection Act.
If you would like to update the information we hold on our customer profile click on the link below to access our current survey form. Please print this and add your details, making sure that you have signed it before sending it to us at Tor House, St Peter's Quay, Totnes, Devon TQ9 5SH.
