Closed call for evidence

Public Bodies Review of Homes England: call for evidence

Published 21 July 2023

Applies to England

Scope

Topic of this call for evidence

This call for evidence seeks information to support the Public Bodies Review into Homes England that was announced on 26 June 2023.

Basic information

Bodies responsible for the call for evidence

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Duration

This call for evidence will last 8 weeks. It will run from 21 July 2023 until 15 September 2023.

Enquiries

If you have any questions about this call for evidence please contact: HEPublicBodiesReview@levellingup.gov.uk

How to respond

You can provide feedback by:

• Using our online survey

• Email to HEPublicBodiesReview@levellingup.gov.uk

We do encourage you to use our online survey where possible. This provides us with quicker access to your responses for analysis.

Background

Public bodies are a critical delivery arm of the government, delivering public services and goods across the United Kingdom. As part of the Cabinet Office’s Public Bodies Review Programme, government departments are carrying out routine reviews of the ALBs they sponsor.

On 26 June 2023 a Public Bodies Review of Homes England was launched, to be led by Tony Poulter.

Homes England is the government’s housing and regeneration agency, established as a Non-Departmental Public Body in the Homes and Communities Act 2008. Homes England works across England only, except in London where much of the agency’s role is devolved to the London Mayor. Homes England has:

• a portfolio of over 9,000 hectares of land
• around £16 billion of combined capital spend (loan, grant, equity, and guarantees) to deploy by 2027/28

Its role is to:

• improve the supply and quality of housing in England
• secure the regeneration or development of land or infrastructure in England
• support the creation, regeneration or development of communities in England or their continued well-being
• contribute to the achievement of sustainable development and good design in England

When originally founded, Homes England focused on housing supply. However, it’s work, leadership, structure, and objectives have changed considerably since it’s last review in 2016. Homes England now has a stronger focus on regeneration, placemaking and remediation. This is delivered through:

• the provision of safer homes, including through building safety interventions such as cladding remediation schemes

• its delivery of the Help to Buy programme, making it the sixth largest mortgage lender in the country

• work with local leaders and other partners to deliver successful places that people can be proud of

Scope and purpose of this review

The purpose of this review is to assess the role of Homes England. The review enables ministers and the public to check that they are focussed on the right things and are spending taxpayers’ money responsibly.

This call for evidence aims to gather information about Homes England’s:

• efficacy - their ability to deliver an effective service which meets the needs of citizens
• efficiency - their ability to deliver a service in the best way with good use of resources
• governance - having in place systems and processes to ensure the organisation is managed responsibly
• accountability - their ability to be open and transparent in decision making and service delivery

Why are we calling for evidence?

We want to gather a wide range of experiences so that we can provide a balanced report on Homes England.

This call for evidence is the first step in the process of on-going consultation with different stakeholders. We will also be gathering information through:

• internal stakeholder interviews
• external stakeholder interviews
• desk-based research
• seeking specialist advice where necessary

The process of evidence gathering will help us to collect a wide range of views which will help to inform our analysis and findings. This will allow the lead reviewer, Tony Poulter, to make evidence-based recommendations to government.

Who do we want to hear from?

We would like to hear from a wide range of people and organisations who have interacted with Homes England. We will be focusing on two different groups of individuals and organisations.

1. Industry

• private sector home builders, large and small
• self and custom builders
• housing associations
• local government
• charity groups
• consultancies
• financial institutions
• Proptech companies and innovative start ups

2. Members of the public who have been involved with:

• homeownership schemes
• cladding remediation

Questions

Please respond to questions through our online survey

1. What type of contact do you have with Homes England? - As a private citizen - In a role as part of an organisation

Industry specific questions

2. Which of the following best describes your organisation? - Charity or Community Group - Consultancy - Financial Institution - Housing Association - Local Government - Private Sector Home Builder - Other [Please specify]

3. Where in England do you operate? - North East - North West - Yorkshire and the Humber - East Midlands - West Midlands - East of England - Greater London - South East - South West

4. Which of the following best describes your current role within your company/organisation?

• Chief Executive Officer / Managing Director
• Executive Director / Director / Senior Manager / Head of Department
• Project Lead
• Other (Please specify)

5. What Homes England services and functions do you use? - Funding for affordable housing - Home ownership products - Strategic advice and guidance - Development finance - Buying land from Homes England - Infrastructure grant funding - Infrastructure loans - Brokerage of relationships - Training or mentoring - Other (please specify)

Purpose and deliverables

6. How strongly do you agree with the following statement: I have a clear understanding of Homes England’s purpose and objectives? - Strongly disagree - Somewhat disagree - Neither agree nor disagree - Somewhat agree - Strongly agree

7. How strongly do you agree with the following statement: I have a clear understanding of the purpose of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in relation housing and regeneration? - Strongly disagree - Somewhat disagree - Neither agree nor disagree - Somewhat agree - Strongly agree

8. What are your thoughts on the alignment of the two organisations?

9. Homes England has 5 strategic objectives. In each case how satisfied are you with their performance?

• Support the creation of vibrant and successful places that people can be proud of, working with local leaders and other partners to deliver housing-led, mixed- use regeneration with a brownfield first approach.
  • very satisfied
  • somewhat satisfied
  • neither satisfied or dissatisfied
  • someone satisfied
  • very dissatisfied
• Build a housing and regeneration sector that works for everyone, driving diversification, partnership working, and innovation.
  • very satisfied
  • somewhat satisfied
  • neither satisfied or dissatisfied
  • someone satisfied
  • very dissatisfied
• Enable sustainable homes and places, maximising their positive contribution to the natural environment and minimising their environmental impact.
  • very satisfied
  • somewhat satisfied
  • neither satisfied or dissatisfied
  • someone satisfied
  • very dissatisfied
• Promote the creation of high-quality homes in well-designed places that reflect community priorities by taking an inclusive and long-term approach.
  • very satisfied
  • somewhat satisfied
  • neither satisfied or dissatisfied
  • someone satisfied
  • very dissatisfied
• Facilitate the creation of the homes people need, intervening where necessary, to ensure places have enough homes of the right type and tenure.
  • very satisfied
  • somewhat satisfied
  • neither satisfied or dissatisfied
  • someone satisfied
  • very dissatisfied

10. Who do you think should deliver each of these objectives?

• Support the creation of vibrant and successful places that people can be proud of, working with local leaders and other partners to deliver housing-led, mixed- use regeneration with a brownfield first approach.
  • Homes England
  • central government
  • local government
  • private sector
• Build a housing and regeneration sector that works for everyone, driving diversification, partnership working, and innovation.
  • Homes England
  • central government
  • local government
  • private sector
• Enable sustainable homes and places, maximising their positive contribution to the natural environment and minimising their environmental impact.
  • Homes England
  • central government
  • local government
  • private sector
• Promote the creation of high-quality homes in well-designed places that reflect community priorities by taking an inclusive and long-term approach.
  • Homes England
  • central government
  • local government
  • private sector
• Facilitate the creation of the homes people need, intervening where necessary, to ensure places have enough homes of the right type and tenure.
  • Homes England
  • central government
  • local government
  • private sector

11. Do you think the balance of responsibility between Homes England and Local Government is about right? - Yes - No - Not sure

12. If no, what do you think should change?

13. How strongly do you agree with the following statement: Homes England supports wide range of companies in the sector? - Strongly disagree - Somewhat disagree - Neither agree nor disagree - Somewhat agree - Strongly agree

Partner experience

14. How satisfied, or dissatisfied are you with the performance of Homes England? - very satisfied - somewhat satisfied - neither satisfied or dissatisfied - someone satisfied - very dissatisfied

15. How satisfied are you with the experience of accessing products and services from Homes England? - very satisfied - somewhat satisfied - neither satisfied or dissatisfied - someone satisfied - very dissatisfied

16. How satisfied were you with your experience of securing funding from Homes England? - very satisfied - somewhat satisfied - neither satisfied or dissatisfied - someone satisfied - very dissatisfied

17. How satisfied are you with the level of your access you receive to contacts and support in Homes England? - very satisfied - somewhat satisfied - neither satisfied or dissatisfied - someone satisfied - very dissatisfied

18. To what extent do you agree with the statement: Homes England’s engagement with industry is clear and well communicated - Strongly disagree - Somewhat disagree - Neither agree nor disagree - Somewhat agree - Strongly agree

19. How could Homes England support your organisation to deliver its housing and regeneration objectives?

20. How important are Homes England to your organisation achieving its aims?

21. To what extent do you agree with the following statement. Homes England is making a positive contribution to my area? - Strongly disagree - Somewhat disagree - Neither agree nor disagree - Somewhat agree - Strongly agree

22. What benefits does Homes England bring to your local area?

23. What could make Homes England more effective in delivering for your local area?

Citizen questions

24. What Homes England products and services do you access as a private citizen?

25. Where in England do you currently live? - North East - North West - Yorkshire and the Humber - East Midlands - West Midlands - East of England - Greater London - South East - South West

26. How satisfied, or dissatisfied are you with the performance of Homes England? - very satisfied - somewhat satisfied - neither satisfied or dissatisfied - someone satisfied - very dissatisfied

27. Please describe the experience of applying for any Homes England services you use.

28. To what extent do you agree with the statement: I am able to easily access information about the Homes England services I use.

29. How satisfied were you with the application process for the HE service you used? - very satisfied - somewhat satisfied - neither satisfied or dissatisfied - someone satisfied - very dissatisfied

30. What could Homes England do to improve the experience of its customers?

Personal data

The following is to explain your rights and give you the information you are entitled to under UK data protection legislation.

Note that this section only refers to personal data (your name, contact details and any other information that relates to you or another identified or identifiable individual personally) not the content otherwise of your response to the consultation.

1. The identity of the data controller and contact details of our Data Protection Officer

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is the data controller. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dataprotection@levellingup.gov.uk or by writing to the following address:

Data Protection Officer
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

2. Why we are collecting your personal data

Your personal data is being collected as an essential part of the consultation process, so that we can contact you regarding your response and for statistical purposes. We may also use it to contact you about related matters.

We will collect your IP address if you complete a consultation online. We may use this to ensure that each person only completes a survey once. We will not use this data for any other purpose.

Sensitive types of personal data

Please do not share special category personal data or criminal offence data  if we have not asked for this unless absolutely necessary for the purposes of your consultation response. By ‘special category personal data’, we mean information about a living individual’s:

• race
• ethnic origin
• political opinions
• religious or philosophical beliefs
• trade union membership
• genetics
• biometrics
• health (including disability-related information)
• sex life; or
• sexual orientation.

By ‘criminal offence data’, we mean information relating to a living individual’s criminal convictions or offences or related security measures.

3. Our legal basis for processing your personal data

The collection of your personal data is lawful under article 6(1)(e) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation as it is necessary for the performance by DLUHC of a task in the public interest/in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller. Section 8(d) of the Data Protection Act 2018 states that this will include processing of personal data that is necessary for the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown or a government department i.e. in this case a consultation.

Where necessary for the purposes of this consultation, our lawful basis for the processing of any special category personal data or ‘criminal offence’ data (terms explained under ‘Sensitive Types of Data’) which you submit in response to this consultation is as follows. The relevant lawful basis for the processing of special category personal data is Article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR (‘substantial public interest’), and Schedule 1 paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (‘statutory etc and government purposes’). The relevant lawful basis in relation to personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences data is likewise provided by Schedule 1 paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

4. With whom we will be sharing your personal data

DLUHC may appoint a ‘data processor’, acting on behalf of the Department and under our instruction, to help analyse the responses to this consultation. Where we do we will ensure that the processing of your personal data remains in strict accordance with the requirements of the data protection legislation.

5. For how long we will keep your personal data, or criteria used to determine the retention period

Your personal data will be held for two years from the closure of the consultation, unless we identify that its continued retention is unnecessary before that point.

6. Your rights, e.g. access, rectification, restriction, objection

The data we are collecting is your personal data, and you have considerable say over what happens to it. You have the right:

a. to see what data we have about you

b. to ask us to stop using your data, but keep it on record

c. to ask to have your data corrected if it is incorrect or incomplete

d. to object to our use of your personal data in certain circumstances

e. to lodge a complaint with the independent Information Commissioner (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law. You can contact the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/, or telephone 0303 123 1113.

Please contact us at the following address if you wish to exercise the rights listed above, except the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO: dataprotection@levellingup.gov.uk or

Knowledge and Information Access Team
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

7. Your personal data will not be sent overseas

8. Your personal data will not be used for any automated decision making

9. Your personal data will be stored in a secure government IT system

We use a third-party system, Citizen Space, to collect consultation responses. In the first instance your personal data will be stored on their secure UK-based server. Your personal data will be transferred to our secure government IT system as soon as possible, and it will be stored there for two years before it is deleted.