TENANTS reacted with shock today to claims that York's biggest social housing trust is training its workers to "spy" on them.

Tradesmen working for the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT) are being asked to attend workshops teaching them how to "keep a look out" for problems like drug and child abuse, while repairing homes.

A trust employee, one of a 40-strong Direct Labour Organisation (DLO) team helping to maintain more than 1,500 of the trust's properties in New Earswick and elsewhere across the city, said it was like "something from the Soviet Union during the Cold War".

Trust residents said they were not aware of the new initiative and claimed it was a breach of their civil liberties.

But trust chiefs today defended the workshops, saying they were not teaching workers to spy, but giving them an opportunity "to act as good neighbours and citizens".

"Any conclusion that this is about spying on residents would be a grotesque misunderstanding of the training provided and a mockery of our intentions," a trust director said.

An internal staff memo, leaked to the Evening Press, lays out the aims of the workshop, which is entitled: "Helping JRHT to support our residents."

It says: "The DLO team is in the frontline of our contact with residents... You may notice problems facing residents, which no one else may be aware of, eg no heating, child or drug abuse, etc. It is therefore key to the wider effectiveness of the Housing and Community Services team that they are informed of potential problems..."

The DLO worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he was disgusted by the workshop, which gave them certain scenarios to decide what was appropriate to report or not.

"Why should the tenants have us looking over their shoulder?" he said.

"The thinking behind it is that we're helping them, but it's really like Big Brother. We are tradesmen, not social workers. Surely it's an infringement of human rights."

Trust resident David Gatenby, 20, of Poplar Grove, New Earswick, said the trust was using the tradesmen to spy on them.

"What people do in their own homes is up to them," he said.

"The workers are employed to do a job on the house, not spy on people. They have no right."

Louise Fisher, 84, who lives with her husband George, 85, in trust sheltered housing in New Earswick, said: "I think it's all wrong. It puts the workers in an awful position."

Resident Anne Flatt said: "It's like they are spying on us. What we do in our own homes is our concern."

Geoff Bunce, chairman of New Earswick Community Association and Residents Association, said the workshop was "inappropriate".

"They should have organised the workshops with residents so everyone knew what was going on," he said.

"These workmen don't have the training of social workers."

Beverley O'Donnell, of Chestnut Grove, said: "I think we will do our own repairs from now on."

We do not want our staff looking for other people's problems

NIGEL INGRAM, JRHT development director, said:

"This training course is about making staff aware of the Housing Trust's role as a responsible landlord, and their own opportunities to act as good neighbours and citizens.

"Any conclusion that this is about spying on residents would be a grotesque misunderstanding of the training provided and a mockery of our intentions.

"Our frontline staff are in routine contact with residents. If they choose, they can play a valuable part in letting us know when an elderly or disabled person is in difficulties or would benefit from extra help.

"Also, although we hope the need will never arise, staff can enable us to fulfil our legal duty of care by reporting any evidence they have seen that a child is being ill-treated.

"Most people would call that common sense rather than 'spying' - and they would rightly condemn us if evidence of child abuse went unreported until it was too late.

"Many of our staff already report occasions when they think a resident needs our help, or if they see something that worries them, including criminal activity.

"The training course, which uses hypothetical examples, encourages them to discuss the appropriate response to different situations. One of its aims is to help staff appreciate when problems they notice are private and none of their business or ours.

"We emphasise in the strongest terms that we do not want our staff to go looking for other people's problems - and we also make it clear that we don't expect them to start acting like social workers.

"They have their own job to do - and they do it very well.

"But that doesn't mean they should not respond, as any other responsible citizen would, if they think that an elderly resident needs our help, crime is being committed, or - heaven forbid - that a child is in danger."

Updated: 10:12 Wednesday, February 02, 2005