Recommendation 10

The Department told us it tried to ‘strike a balance,’ between a centrally driven approach to need versus a local approach. The Department explained that outside London, Homes England identifies whether proposals for new homes are acceptable value for money, guided by local land supply and policy. Housing providers must then build homes 13 Qq 63, 64 14 Written evidence submitted by G15 group, dated September 2022 15 Q 63 16 Qq 69, 72 17 C&AG’s Report, para 4.4 18 C&AG’s Report, para 21, Figure 13 19 Written evidence submitted by Shelter, dated September 2022 20 Qq 59–62 21 C&AG’s Report, para 4.3 22 Q 45 23 Q 52, 59, 60 24 Qq 45–46 10 The Affordable Homes Programme since 2015 within the timeframe of the Programme. The Department decides how much funding to allocate to London and the rest of England .25 For the 2021 Programme, the GLA will receive 35% of the Programme’s funding, down from a 50% split of funding for the 2016 programme. The National Audit Office found that the 2021 programme achieved a much higher benefit cost ratio in London compared to the rest of England.26 The Department commented that there are other policy considerations, aside from benefit cost ratios, that determine the split of funding between London and the rest of England.27 Homes for social rent