Pay me please

The article "Benefit issues may drive tenants away from boards" (25 April, page 7) prompted me to answer some of the remarks recently made by people who, on the whole, know nothing about social housing from the point of view of a tenant.

First, I want to point out to all of these highly paid people from consultants such as Hacas Chapman Hendy, the Tenants' Participation Advisory Service and the National Housing Federation that not all tenant board members are on benefits. In fact the vast majority are not. Besides, those who are on benefits are not people who would try to defraud the system.

Second, I'd like to ask: would this question of payment have arisen if there were no tenant members on boards? No, it wouldn't; board members would just be receiving fees without question. Just look at many of the other voluntary sections, even within the world of social housing. The Independent Housing Ombudsman, for example, is fully financed by tenants and has always paid its board members whether they are tenants, landlords or whatever. And who funds the National Housing Federation? Landlords. Where do they get the money from? Tenants.

I know the Housing Corporation has consulted with landlords and that's only right, but ask them to try going out and questioning tenants. Some of whom give not a couple of hours every month or two to attend a board meeting but hundreds of hours every year, free of charge, helping fellow tenants.

So why shouldn't tenant board members be treated the same as the so-called professionals, or other board members?

After all, they may be "professionals" but the tenants are the experts.