Housing Corporation News Release

New future for the Housing Corporation opens up
- Pioneering agency proposed to drive forward housing and regeneration -

17 January 2007      Media contact: Katy Nicholson 0207 393 2115        Ref: 04/07

The Government’s announcement proposing a new agency set to boost regeneration and housing delivery was welcomed by Housing Corporation Chairman Peter Dixon.

Following today’s (Wednesday 17 January 2007) announcement by Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly, Peter Dixon said, “This is a momentous opportunity.  By bringing together the strengths of  the three organisations to form a single body, the new agency will be able to deliver even more for communities and the country as a whole. 

“Combining the skills and experience  of the Housing Corporation, English Partnerships and parts of Communities and Local Government, Communities England will better pioneer innovative approaches and drive strategic direction in partnership  with the best on offer from housing associations and private developers. 

“Communities England will cut red tape and combine national scope with local effectiveness. It  will deliver more affordable housing and opportunities for people to gain a foot on the housing ladder. Working closely with local authorities it will help unlock more land for development, transform failing estates and successfully create places where people choose to live and stay. 

"We look forward to working with Government and new colleagues to deliver this promise and more.”

Communities England will bring together the functions of the Housing Corporation with those of English Partnerships and a range of work carried out by Communities and Local Government, including decent homes, housing market renewal, housing growth and urban regeneration.   Senior executives from the Housing Corporation, English Partnerships and the Department will form a transition team headed by Baroness Ford, working with the Government to plan for the proposed new organisation.

During the transition period, individual agencies will continue to deliver their existing programmes  

Housing Corporation Chairman Peter Dixon adds, “In this interim period we will keep our foot firmly on the pedal in driving the delivery of the affordable housing investment programme and maintaining effective regulation of the housing association sector.”

The Housing Corporation is the Government agency responsible for investing in new affordable homes and regulating housing associations across England.  Its biggest ever investment programme of £3.9 billion for 2006-08 will fund 84,000 new affordable homes, 49,000 for affordable rent and 35,000 for affordable sale. 

Ends.

Notes to Editors:

1) The Housing and Regeneration Review was launched in April 2006 to assess the institutional structures for housing and regeneration delivery carried out by the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships.  The review was asked to consider the best way of organising national delivery mechanisms to maximise the use of private investment, public subsidy and land holdings, and assets funded by past public investment, to support the delivery of new homes and mixed, sustainable communities.

2) In July the scope of the review was extended in three areas:
• to examine Communities and Local Government's delivery functions (in addition to the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships) to determine the scope for rationalising existing delivery-focused activities across the piece;
• to include a specific work-stream on modernising the regulation of affordable housing, particularly in the light of the increasing involvement of the private sector; and
• to evaluate a range of potential modernisation and structural options for reform.

3) A separate review of the regulation of affordable housing, the Cave Review, was announced on the 14 December 2006. This will look at how the regulatory system should be reformed to better support tenants, reduce burdens on social housing providers and to reflect current and future Government priorities. It will report in Spring 2007.

4) The decision to devolve the Department’s delivery functions in the areas of decent homes, housing growth, housing market renewal and regeneration to Communities England is part of building a new strategic Department. A streamlined delivery chain is vital for transforming Communities Local Government into a more strategic and policy focused Department.

5) English Partnerships is the national regeneration agency, helping the Government to support high quality sustainable growth in England, chaired by Baroness Ford.

6) The Housing Corporation is the Government agency responsible for investing in new affordable homes and regulating over 1,500 housing association across England. Its biggest ever investment programme of £3.9 billion, for 2006-08, will fund 84,000 homes. 49,000 of these will be for affordable rent and 35,000 will be for affordable sale through the Government's new HomeBuy initiative, helping people to get a foot on the property ladder.

7) Communities England  is expected to have an annual budget of over £4 billion (based on current budgets) with the final size of the budget and the arrangements for delegating the Department’s budgets to be determined as part of CSR07.