No plans to abolish and devolve Homes England’s powers despite call from thinktank

It said since local government already holds responsibility for most housing and planning decisions, this should be backed by devolving funding programmes currently owned by Homes England – such as the new Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) – to mayoral strategic authorities.

Ownership of the agency’s 9,000-hectare land portfolio and responsibility for its land activities should also be transferred in this way.

Under the government’s devolution bill, mayors across England will get new powers to speed up housebuilding in their areas. The legislation will give leaders of combined authorities and combined county authorities the ability to grant planning permission via mayoral development orders.

The bill will also bring in a more efficient way to set up mayoral development corporations. The thinktank did point to the success of of these corporations in places such as Manchester and Tees Valley, which have delivered thousands of new homes.

Dr Simon Kaye, policy director at Re:State, said: “England is one of the most over-centralised countries in the world.

“If ministers are serious about big goals like housebuilding, cutting quangos and achieving real devolution, then Homes England should now be wound down.

“Mayors are far closer to communities, better able to form partnerships, and are therefore best placed to lead on delivering the homes and regeneration this country urgently needs.”

The report’s other key recommendations include merging the National Housing Bank with the Public Works Loan Board to form a new ‘English municipal bank’ that has a regionally structured operating model.

Devolving responsibilities for ensuring housing construction, quality and sustainability to regional mayors, while the central government retains baseline standards and sets targets.

Plus, reforming support and technical assistance so that mayors co-ordinate skills and advice on unlocking sites for local authorities.

Earlier this year, sector experts explained why Homes England needs to put devolution at the heart of the new AHP and distribute the cash quicker in a way that moves away from a site-by-site approach.

In the Spending Review, the government signalled that it will shift to a place-based approach. This includes a review of its Green Book rules to allow the Treasury to prioritise projects outside London and South East England.

At the end of last month, Inside Housing analysed whether changes to the Green Book will alter the face of housing delivery in England.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We have no plans to abolish Homes England and it has the full support of ministers. 

“The housing and regeneration agency is working more closely than ever with mayors to plan and deliver our housing agenda as we turn the tide on the entrenched housing crisis, and will move to a more regionalised model so that it is even more responsive to the economic plans of local areas. 

“A new chief executive officer has also been appointed recently to help drive forward the government’s ambitious housebuilding agenda, boost economic growth and deliver 1.5 million homes through our Plan for Change.”