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Drive for affordable homes and the rights of tenants move forward

Published	27 June 2008

The Government's drive to deliver much needed new affordable homes and safeguard higher housing standards for 8 million social housing tenants took another step forward today as Housing Minister Caroline Flint announced the successful recruitment of two top positions at the agencies charged with achieving these goals.

Robert Napier will become the first Chair of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the new agency to support regeneration and drive forward the delivery of new affordable homes, whilst Peter Marsh, Deputy Chief Executive of the Housing Corporation, will become the first Chief Executive of the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) to oversee the development and implementation of the regulator when it opens for business. The Tenant Services Authority will regulate social housing landlords, setting high standards of management across housing association and local authority social homes, listening to tenants' concerns and using its powers to make sure tenants are getting a good service.

Housing Minister Caroline Flint said:

"We need two exceptional people to help deliver our housing ambitions  and I am pleased to welcome both Peter and Robert on their appointment. Peter Marsh is an excellent choice as Chief Executive of the Tenant  Services Authority - his experience and expertise in both the registered social landlord and local authority sectors will be vital in ensuring tenants get a high quality service from their landlords whilst encouraging landlords to keep innovating and improving their offer. Similarly the Homes and Communities Agency will benefit from having the outstanding, regeneration, development and environmental sustainability skills and experience of Robert Napier as chair." 

Accepting the post of Chair of the Homes and Communities Agency Robert Napier said:

"Since the decision was taken to create the Homes and Communities  Agency, I have been a passionate believer in the added benefits for people and communities that it will deliver in housing and regeneration. The HCA will build on the strengths of English Partnerships and The Housing Corporation to create new and more innovative ways of meeting the challenges facing us. Our work with local authorities to underpin their efforts to deliver better quality places will be one of our most important tasks."

Accepting the post of Chief Executive of the Tenant Services Authority Peter Marsh said:

"I am honoured to have been offered the opportunity of leading the Tenant Services Authority in its mission to champion the needs of  social tenants, and to challenge landIords to offer the very best  services and promote choice in service delivery. The Tenant Services Authority will play a key role in defining a new standards framework that will place the provision of the highest quality services at its heart. I believe that the need to ensure landlords remain financially viable has never been as important as it is today to ensure they can  deliver high quality services and develop new homes for decades to come. The Tenant Services Authority will challenge mediocrity and complacency and, acting as a force for change, promoting excellence  and choice"

Biography of Peter Marsh

Peter Marsh has been Deputy Chief Executive of the Housing Corporation since 2007. Prior to that he was Director of Resources at the Corporation. Before joining the Corporation Peter worked in Further Education as Deputy Principal at City and Islington College, London, and prior to that at Gateshead College, Tyne and Wear. Previously he worked for KPMG, in its North East public sector team, and the Audit Commission, auditing Local Authorities and the NHS in the north east of England.

Biography of Robert Napier

Robert Napier took up the post of Chairman of English Partnerships in January 2008, having been a Non-Executive Director since March 2004. Robert is also Chairman of the Board of the Met Office. He was Chief Executive of WWF-UK, the UK arm of the World Wide Fund for Nature from 1999 to April 2007. Before that he spent 16 years at Redland plc, where he was successively Financial Director, Managing Director and Chief Executive.

He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Anglian Water Services and is also Chairman of the trustees of the Carbon Disclosure Project.

Robert was formerly Chairman of the CBI Transport Policy Committee and President of the National Council of Building Material Producers. 

Notes to Editors

1. Through the new Housing and Regeneration Bill the Government is committed to address the shortage of affordable housing, to make new housing developments more environmentally friendly and to give social housing tenants a better deal. The two new bodies will be created subject to the bill receiving Royal Assent. The new Tenant Services Authority will be an independent regulatory body with powers to cut red tape for registered local landlords and wider ranging ability to take action where tenants are not getting a fair deal.

2. The Office for Tenants and Social Landlords was announced by the then Minister for Housing and Planning, Yvette Cooper, on 15 October 2007:
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm071015/wmstext/71015m0001.htm (external link). 

3 The proposals for setting up the new agency are outlined in the Housing and Regeneration Bill which is currently before Parliament: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2007-08/housingandregeneration.html (external link).

4.  Professor Martin Cave's independent review of social housing regulation, Every Tenant Matters, was published on 19 June 2007:  www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/everytenantmatters.

5.  Robert Napier's appointment has been made in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA). All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity (if any declared) to be made public. He has declared no political activity.

6. Robert Napier's appointment is for three years and attracts a remuneration of £90,000 p.a. - Robert will take up his post with immediate effect and will also remain chair of English Partnerships until the HCA is formally established. Reflecting the extra time that Robert will be devoting to the two roles he will receive a salary during this period of £135,000 p.a. (Pro - rata).

7. The Chief Executive will be accountable to the Board of TSA. He will be responsible for creating a new social housing regulator that will deliver the Government's vision as set out in its response to the consultation on delivering housing and regeneration (January 2008). He will ensure that tenants get a high quality service from their landlords, while allowing the latter sufficient freedom to allow them to innovate for the benefit of the sector.

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