Homes and Communities Agency

Brandon Lewis Excerpts

Wednesday 10th February 2016 Written Statements

[The Minister for Housing and Planning (Brandon Lewis)]

I am today announcing the launch of a review of the Homes and Communities Agency in line with the requirement on all Government Departments to regularly review non-departmental public bodies. Established in 2008, the agency is the national housing, land and regeneration agency and the regulator of registered social housing providers in England.

The spending review underlined the priority this Government attach to our ambition to build a million homes this Parliament and to double the number of new homeowners. Building on the successful contribution the Homes and Communities Agency made in the last Parliament, this review will ensure that we are well-placed to deliver the Government’s objectives and will:

i) Examine the continuing need for a non-departmental public body, covering:

how each of the agency’s functions contributes to Government objectives;

whether each function and the body is still required; and

the best future delivery options.

ii) Examine the capacity of the Homes and Communities Agency to deliver more efficiently and effectively.

iii) Examine whether corporate governance and management arrangements are sufficiently robust and transparent and ensure that agency is operating in line with recognised principles of good corporate governance.

We will be seeking evidence from a wide range of sources, including the agency itself, and there will be an opportunity for interested stakeholders to feed in views. I will inform the House once the review is complete and copies of its report will be placed in the Library of the House.

[HCWS520]