Disposal of public land for new homes inquiry: further progress review
Closed
What the inquiry looked at
“This Public Accounts Committee inquiry examines the government's progress to sell land for more than 160,000 homes by 2020. This work follows on from our June 2015 investigation, the Disposal of public land for new homes which looked at the first land release programme and the January 2016 progress review of the recommendations made. This September follow-on inquiry seeks to examine whether the additional evidence provided to the Committee of Public Accounts on the progress of the first programme is accurate, how the new programme has been implemented and how will it be managed. The inquiry also plans to look, in detail, at how departments plan to deliver the programme, and what is their progress to date. National Audit Office report The National Audit Office (July 2016) have recently concluded that the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has made progress in setting up its new programme to release enough public sector land for 160,000 homes by 2020, but so far only land with capacity for an estimated 8,580 homes has been disposed of. The Department has, however, committed to monitor the progress of land development including the number of homes built. Their report found that, in the first full ten months of the new programme, the department has only met 5% of its commitment. Additional land with capacity for another 4,853 homes (an additional 3%) has been disposed of. The Homes and Communities Agency, responsible for collecting information from government departments, has not yet however obtained sufficient evidence that this additional land will actually be developed for housing.”
The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.
What it found
We recognise that the Department for Communities and Local Government (the Department) and individual departments have made progress, since our report in September 2015, on managing the disposal of public land for new homes. The Department has put in place guidance and monitoring arrangements for the 2015–2020 programme, although it has yet to publish these. It has also made clearer other departments’ roles and responsibilities. We are also pleased that the Department has now agreed to monitor the number of homes actually built; the programme is an important part of addressing the current housing shortage and the taxpayer has a right to know how many homes are built as a result of it.
However, there is still a long way to go to ensure that departments release enough land, by 2020, with the capacity for at least 160,000 new homes. All departments have made a slow start in releasing land, and so the success of the programme will depend on accelerating land sales significantly in the remaining years to 2020. For many of the sites identified for future sale there are a number of risks still to be addressed and it is far from certain that they will actually be made available for new homes, or when, and there is no contingency in the programme. The Department for Communities and Local Government also needs to firm up the detail of its monitoring and reporting processes; to make all details of the programme public so that roles, responsibilities and accountabilities are clear and transparent thereby providing assurance to taxpayers that they will see the benefits of this programme.
What the government said
No government response is linked to this report.
How the inquiry ran
Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 11 August 2016 to its close on 4 January 2018.
- Oral evidence 7 Sep 2016
- Report 2 Nov 2016
What it recommended
The committee's recommendations are not listed here yet. Read them in 22nd Report - Progress with the disposal of public land for new homes ↗ on parliament.uk.
Evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1
- 7 Sep 2016No witnesses recordedparliament.uk ↗