4
Recommendation
Twenty-Ninth Report - The Affordable Ho…
Deferred
The Department does not quantify potential savings in some areas, such as temporary accommodation, into the Programme. Surprisingly, the Department can identify, but not quantify, savings in areas such as temporary accommodation and adult social care that the public purse could make through the Programme. For example, from the estimated …
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The Department does not quantify potential savings in some areas, such as temporary accommodation, into the Programme. Surprisingly, the Department can identify, but not quantify, savings in areas such as temporary accommodation and adult social care that the public purse could make through the Programme. For example, from the estimated 8,500 households that could move out of temporary accommodation by 2026–27 through the 2021 programme. The Department needs 6 The Affordable Homes Programme since 2015 to improve its knowledge, so it can factor in these further savings when it allocates funding. The Department urgently needs to understand and quantify the savings that building more supported homes can make to local and central government spend on adult social care. It then needs to work harder with the Department of Health and Social Care to overcome the barriers to delivery, particularly in London. The Department does consider welfare savings such as savings to housing benefit and quantified these for the 2021 programme. Recommendation: Before the next iteration of the Programme, the Department should quantify the wider savings it could make to areas such as adult social care and temporary accommodation.
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Government response AI summary
The government will collect evidence through resident surveys as part of the 2021 programme evaluation to understand impacts for adult social care and temporary accommodation, with first results anticipated in 2024 and surveys repeating until 2029.
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HM Treasury
7
Recommendation
Twenty-Ninth Report - The Affordable Ho…
Deferred
The Department acknowledged that its section on risk within business case for the 2021 programme may have been inadequate. We pressed the Department and Homes England over significant risks that may mean housing providers build fewer homes than forecast.11 The Department told us that it has a fixed budget for …
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The Department acknowledged that its section on risk within business case for the 2021 programme may have been inadequate. We pressed the Department and Homes England over significant risks that may mean housing providers build fewer homes than forecast.11 The Department told us that it has a fixed budget for the Programme, and must deliver within it.12 The Department acknowledged that these significant risks could mean that housing providers build fewer homes. Significant risks include large increases 5 C&AG’s Report, para 1.13 6 Q 38 7 C&AG’s Report, para 2.3 8 Q 39 9 Q 40 10 C&AG’s Report, para 2.13 11 Qq 63–64, 69–76 12 Q 52 The Affordable Homes Programme since 2015 9 in the cost of materials and labour.13 The G15, a group of large housing associations in and around London, told us that its members, in some areas, report 15%-30% increases in material and labour costs.14 The Department told us it expects that larger providers will manage cost pressures by using contingency funds and other sources of funding to plug the gap.15 We questioned the Department and Homes England further about the labour force, skills shortages and delays with the planning system. Homes England confirmed that these ‘non-inflationary headwinds’ led to around a 20-week delay in completions last year. The Department told us that it has secured some extra funding for local planning departments, and that housing providers are using modern methods of construction a great deal, and looking to a different labour model as well as a different construction model.16 Where homes are built
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Government response AI summary
The government will report to the Committee with updated targets for programme delivery following a review with Homes England and the Greater London Authority.
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HM Treasury