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Housing

New agency will have key regeneration role

Published	10 January 2008

The Government today set out more details of the work of the Agency which will play a key role in delivering the 3m new homes by 2020 pledged by the Prime Minister - the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

The new Agency will, for the first time, bring together responsibility for land and for money to deliver new housing, community facilities and new infrastructure. The HCA will also work with local councils on some of England's 10 new eco towns.

The Agency will combine English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation and delivery functions from Communities and Local Government to bring together expertise, resources and powers to transform the way we deliver homes and regenerate communities. It will give local authorities a clear strategic partner to work with on housing and regeneration delivery in their areas. It is expected to start work in April next year.

Housing Minister Yvette Cooper announced that the HCA will therefore have responsibility for regeneration programmes from English Partnerships and the provision of new affordable housing funded by social housing grant from the Housing Corporation. It will have operational responsibility for the delivery of major housing and regeneration projects such as the areas of major housing growth (such as Milton Keynes, Ashford and London Stansted Cambridge Peterborough), the Thames Gateway regeneration project, taking forward the Delivery Plan outlined last November, and the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders. The Government will retain responsibility for strategic and cross-Whitehall issues on these projects.

The Agency will also take on responsibility for the delivery of social sector decent homes (including Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMOs), Large Scale Voluntary Transfers (LSVT) and Housing Private Finance Initiative (PFI)); PFI for new supply; mixed communities; capital investment on homelessness, hostels and specialist supported housing; the National Land-Use Database of Previously Developed Land; and the Academy for Sustainable Communities.

Yvette Cooper said:

"The HCA, under the leadership of Sir Bob Kerslake, will be crucial in delivering the new homes and community infrastructure we have pledged and we desperately need - bringing together land, money and skills to build more homes and regenerate communities. This important new agency will be able to work closely with local councils to support them in their wide range of housing, regeneration and community work."

Notes to editors

The Government consulted in June on the Homes and Communities Agency, the functions that should transfer to it and the remit of the Social Housing Regulator. The document entitled Delivering Housing and Regeneration: Communities England and the future of social Housing Regulation can be found at: www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/deliveringhousingregeneration.

The Summary of responses to this consultation, published today, can be found at The Communities website: www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/communitiesenglandresponses.

This shows clear support for the Homes and Communities Agency and Oftenant and outlines in greater detail how the Agencies will work.

The Government announced in December that Sir Bob Kerslake would be the new CEO for the Homes and Communities Agency.

The Agency will take responsibility for the management of the following:

• Regeneration programmes from English Partnerships, including remediation of brownfield land, facilitating the provision of homes for key workers, the National Coalfields programme and developing its strategic sites programme to facilitate the delivery of increasing numbers of new homes;
• Provision of new affordable housing, currently provided through social housing grant from the Housing Corporation;
• Delivery responsibilities for the decent homes programmes for the social housing sector from the Department for Communities and Local Government including Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMOs), Large Scale Voluntary Transfers (LSVT), Housing Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and PFI for new supply. This will enable the Agency to work closely with local authorities to join up delivery of Decent Homes with the wider regeneration of communities. Ministers will continue to make final decisions on stock transfers and the establishment of ALMOs;
• Transferring programme management responsibility from Communities and Local Government on Housing Market Renewal facilitating the joining up with other agency programmes, allowing it to work with Local Authorities to develop multifaceted regeneration programmes that deliver community as well as housing market renewal;
• The Agency will take on the housing and regeneration delivery functions of Communities and Local Government in support of the main existing growth areas, including Milton Keynes-South Midlands, London-Stanstead-Cambridge-Peterborough, and Ashford. Fulfilling its objective of becoming the "Best Delivery Partner" for local authorities, it will also work with local authorities to develop support for new and emerging growth points and will become Government's main source of advice on the delivery of housing growth. Responsibility for selecting and assessing growth areas will remain with Communities and Local Government and with Ministers;
• Similarly the Agency will take on housing and regeneration delivery functions from Communities and Local Government in the Thames Gateway, including driving forward the implementation of the Thames Gateway Delivery Plan published in November.

Additionally, the Academy for Sustainable Communities will transfer to the Agency, as will delivery responsibilities for the following programmes, currently undertaken by Communities and Local Government:

• Mixed Communities
• Capital Investment on Homelessness Hostels and Specialist Supported Housing
• National Land-Use Database of Previously Developed Land.

As we announced in December Joe Montgomery has, as Director General, Regions and Communities, now taken direct responsibility for the Thames Gateway Executive, co-ordinating the work of government departments and agencies in the Gateway. Over the next 15 months until the establishment of the HCA, Joe will be responsible for taking forward the programme of work set out in the Thames Gateway Delivery Plan.

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