Assessment Services
This is a service provided to organisations and assessment by the Portsmouth Mediation Service (PMS) offers organisations (referring bodies):
- impartial and independent gathering of information from individuals involved in disputes
- direct problem solving where feasible
- identification of – and referral to, where applicable - alternative agencies which may be able to assist (including Mediation where appropriate)
- a full written report (to the referring body).
In carrying out the assessments, PMS Officers work to strict timescales and maintain necessary progress contact with the referring body, usually delivering final results within about three to six weeks.
The PMS’s Officers are all Accredited Mediators and use Mediation skills in the course of their assessment activities. Bringing these skills into the assessments adds value by:
- ensuring that the people involved feel that they have been given focussed and undivided attention to their concerns and wishes
- allowing the people involved to “have their say” and feel that they “have been heard”
- promoting understanding between the people involved of the views, concerns, and wishes of each other
- identifying and negotiating agreements which are acceptable to - and sustainable by - all the people involved
- identifying ways in which the people might better communicate with each other in the future.
Benefits to the organisation include:
- saving of individual officers’ time in dealing with current problematic situations themselves
- saving of individual officers’ energies in dealing with current problematic situations themselves
- being able to offer the people involved the in-put of a specialist dispute resolution service
- having written information, reporting findings, obtained by an independent and impartial body
- being able to demonstrate innovative and external (to the organisation) options for dealing with the concerns and complaints of people (e.g. customers, service users, clients, etc)
- empowerment of the people involved, enabling them to be more likely to be able to deal with any further issues themselves, without reference to the organisation
- saving of further officers’ time, energy
- saving of costs which would be incurred were further problems to arise, resulting in more action being needed by the organisation.
The Portsmouth Mediation Service (PMS) has been running and operating its Portsmouth Assessment Service (PAS) in partnership with the Housing Department of the Portsmouth City Council since 2003. Specific information about this Service, as made available to neighbours involved, is given below.
Portsmouth Assessment Service (PAS)
Portsmouth Assessment Service (PAS) is:
- designed for tenants and leaseholders of Portsmouth City Council (PCC)
- a route which may also be accessed by neighbours affected by tenants and leaseholders of the PCC
- the first step in a customer driven Housing Service process for dealing with neighbour nuisance and antisocial behaviour
- free to the residents involved
- focused on the residents and their neighbour issues
- focused on neighbour nuisance and anti-social behaviour; not other housing issues
- able to identify easy ways of resolving problems
- a method of dealing with issues informally, without the need for formal action (e.g. removal of tenancy, police intervention)
Assessment Officers (AOs):
- are impartial and treat people in an equitable way
- independent of the statutory services (e.g. Local Council, Police)
- handle cases in a confidential manner
- apply specific conflict resolution skills
An Assessment Officer (AO) will:
- Contact you within two working days of your case being accepted from the Housing Service
- Listen to what you have to say
- Gather information on what has happened so far
- Discuss what options are available to you
- Advise on the most appropriate course of action
Key features of the PAS are that it:
- is focussed on the neighbour nuisance and anti-social behaviour issues
- empowers individuals to make their own choices and decisions
- enables people to find the best way forward for themselves and their neighbours
- achieves understandings or agreements which are more likely to be kept as the neighbours involved have made those choices for themselves
- promotes improved quality of life for people in the communities affected by the neighbour nuisance