Clive Betts questions effectiveness of housing programme funding
27 March 2015
Clive Betts MP, Chair of the Communities and Local Government Committee, has expressed concern about the take-up of funding for key Government housing programmes.
- Inquiry: Work of the Communities and Local Government Committee
- Communities and Local Government Committee
Following receipt of a letter from Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Clive Betts said:
"At a time when the country urgently needs to deliver more housing, I am very concerned that public money for key house building programmes is sitting idle in the Government's coffers. The fact that money dedicated for housing is swishing around the Department's bank account will be of little comfort to those people desperate to have their own roof over their heads.
The Build to Rent Fund was supposed to provide equity finance to get much-needed private rented housing off the ground. However, the Government has now announced that some 80% of the fund will be 'reprofiled', meaning spending will be deferred to future years rather than starting to help people now.
There are also serious concerns over the delivery of affordable housing. The first round of the affordable homes programme received fewer bids than the Government expected. Instead of spending money on affordable homes, the Government is now left holding it back in the hope that more housing associations will come forward. I fear that the shortage of bids is the result of housing associations finding their capacity increasingly stretched.
These matters will merit serious scrutiny in the new parliament. Our successor committee may well wish to examine why housing providers are not making greater use of these important funding streams."