Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason the Vice-Chair of the Regulation Committee at the Homes & Communities Agency was appointed as the Interim Chair for a period of 12 months instead of a permanent appointee being recruited.

The previous Chair, Julian Ashby, stepped down unexpectedly in January 2018 to take up another position which could have been perceived to be a conflict of interest. The decision was taken to appoint the deputy Chair into the role of Interim Chair for a period of 12 months to provide continuity as the Regulator of Social Housing becomes a stand alone organsiation. A campaign to recruit the permanent Chair will launch after the publication of the Social Housing Green Paper to ensure the job specification fully reflects the Government’s priorities for social housing.