[Withdrawn] Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government single departmental plan - May 2018
Updated 27 June 2019
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This publication was withdrawn on 13 June 2019
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Our single departmental plan sets out our objectives and how we will achieve them.
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP
Permanent Secretary
MHCLG aims to help create great places to live and work right across the country and to back communities to come together and thrive. We strive to:
- Ensure people throughout the country have access to affordable and high-quality housing
- Provide opportunities for all parts of the country to thrive economically
- Build integrated communities
- Support effective local government
Our objectives
We will:
-
Deliver the homes the country needs
-
Make the vision of a place you call home a reality
-
Deliver a sustainable future for local government, strengthening its connection with the communities it serves
-
Create socially and economically stronger and more confident communities
-
Secure effective support for those affected by the Grenfell Tower disaster, delivering the changes this tragedy demands and ensuring people are safe and feel safe within their homes
-
Support a smooth exit from the European Union
-
Maintain MHCLG as a great place to work
1. Deliver the homes the country needs
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Dominic Raab MP, Minister of State for Housing
Lead official
Helen MacNamara, Director General, Housing
1.1 Housing supply
MHCLG will support the delivery of a million homes by the end of 2020 and half a million more by the end of 2022 and put us on track to deliver 300,000 net additional homes a year on average.
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver the reforms proposed in our Housing White Paper and at Autumn Budget to ensure the planning system supports our housing supply objectives. |
| Improve productivity and competition in the housing market, opening it up to smaller builders and those who embrace innovative and efficient methods while supporting the work of DfE and BEIS to improve the provision of construction skills. |
| Provide Home Building Fund short-term loan finance targeted at SMEs, custom-builders and innovators; and new guarantees to support housebuilding, including SMEs and purpose-built rented housing. |
| Deliver the Housing Infrastructure Fund grant funding to provide infrastructure which unlocks homes in areas where housing need is greatest and deliver Home Building Fund long-term loan funding for infrastructure and large sites. |
| Support local authorities and housing associations to increase the supply of affordable homes. Provide grant funding in the Affordable Homes Programme and lift Housing Revenue Account borrowing caps for councils in areas of high affordability pressure. |
| Boost availability of land in the right places for homes and ensure that better use is made of underused land. |
| Make the most of surplus land already in public ownership: release surplus central government land and support local authorities to release their land. |
| Support ambitious local authorities to bring forward land to create new settlements. |
| Provide funding to enable Homes England to acquire, assemble and de-risk sites and accelerate building of homes on small, stalled sites. |
| Increase home ownership and housing supply through the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme. |
| Encourage the best practice in delivering high quality design to underpin the creation of great places to live. |
Our performance
Net additional dwellings per annum
| Year | Net additional dwellings |
|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 217,350 |
| 2015-16 | 189,650 |
| 2014-15 | 170,690 |
The cumulative total of net additions since April 2015 is 407,000.
Source: Net supply of housing data; release schedule: annually
Gross supply of affordable housing completions
| Year | Gross supply of affordable housing completions |
|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 41,530 |
| 2015-16 | 32,630 |
| 2014-15 | 66,700 |
Source: Affordable housing supply data; release schedule: annual
2. Make the vision of a place you call home a reality
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Heather Wheeler MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Lead official
Helen MacNamara, Director General, Housing
2.1 Helping vulnerable people
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Implement the Homelessness Reduction Act in April 2018, and explore ways to bring down the number of people in temporary accommodation. |
| Develop a strategy to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eradicate it by 2027. |
| Reform funding for supported housing provision. |
2.2 Access and experience
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Launch the Voluntary Right to Buy pilot for tenants of housing associations in the Midlands. |
| Reform the leasehold market so it is fairer and more transparent, and provides greater choice for home-owners. |
| Bring forward a green paper on social housing in England. |
| Reform the private rented sector so it is fairer and more affordable. |
| Reform the home-buying process so that it is more efficient and less costly. |
Our performance
Rough sleeping count for England
| Year | Number of rough sleepers |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 4,751 |
| 2016 | 4,134 |
| 2015 | 3,569 |
Source: Rough sleeping in England data; release schedule: annually
Unintentionally homeless and in priority need (acceptances)
| Year | Unintentionally homeless and in priority need (acceptances) |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 56,500 |
| 2016 | 59,260 |
| 2015 | 57,890 |
Source: Homelessness data; release schedule: annually
3. Deliver a sustainable future for local government, strengthening its connection with the communities it serves
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Rishi Sunak MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Local Government)
Lead official
Jo Farrar, Director General, Local Government and Public Services
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Aim to set baseline funding allocations for councils from 2020-21 by delivering up-to-date assessment of their relative needs and resource. |
| Reform local government finance system, giving local government more control over the money it raises through increased retention of local business rates. |
| Deliver the Local Government Finance Settlement 2019-20. |
| Consider risks facing individual authorities, and deliver and manage interventions in cases of best value failure. |
| Consider unitarisation and mergers between councils where requested. |
| Establish and apply good practice more effectively across local government to raise standards and performance. |
| Establish a local authority digital service function that helps councils to deliver digital efficiency enablers and bring forward proposals to support increased efficiency in councils by 2019-20. |
Our performance
4 year settlement for local councils accepted by 97% of local councils for 2018-19
Source: Local government finance settlement
4. Create socially and economically stronger and more confident communities
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Jake Berry MP, Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, Minister for Faith
Lead officials
Simon Ridley, Director General, Decentralisation and Growth
Jo Farrar, Director General, Local Government and Public Services
4.1 Build integrated communities
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Consider the responses to the Integrated Communities Strategy green paper consultation and take forward agreed actions to make communities economically and socially sustainable. |
| Establish a National Memorial and Learning Centre to remember the victims of the Holocaust and to educate about the importance of combatting intolerance and hatred. |
4.2 Better public services that respond to community needs
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Support local delivery of the national Troubled Families Programme and ensure that all local authorities are the commissioners of high quality family support. |
| Build community resilience, supporting them to be ready for, respond to, and recover from emergencies (supports SDG 11). |
| Work with the DHSC to: join up health, social care, and housing services; give local authorities access to dedicated funding for adult social care; prepare a Green Paper on care and support for older people; and co-lead a piece of work on care and support for working age adults. |
4.3 Deliver local growth strategies
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Increase growth throughout the Northern Powerhouse by working locally and across government to maximise the impact of investment (supports SDG 10). |
| Drive economic growth in the Midlands Engine by delivering the current strategy. |
| Develop Local Industrial Strategies that identify priorities to improve innovation, infrastructure, skills and business growth (supports SDG 8). |
| Drive economic and housing growth through a joined-up programme for the Oxford-Milton Keynes-Cambridge corridor, working closely with DfT (supports SDG 9). |
| Implement and deepen devolution for existing mayors; explore further mayoral devolution deals where there is local support; develop a devolution framework for England; and progress city and growth deals in the devolved administrations. |
| Use the review of Local Enterprise Partnerships to improve their governance and effectiveness, to help deliver Industrial Strategies. |
4.4 Invest in our communities
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver a new UK-Shared Prosperity Fund to support growth in local economies across the UK (supports SDG 10). |
| Continue to deliver the ERDF to support growth throughout the country. |
| Run a significant campaign that celebrates the Great British High Street, culminating in the Great British High Street Competition awards ceremony in November 2018. |
Our performance
Families engaged in the Troubled Families Programme 272,100 by September 2017
Source: Evaluation of the Troubled Families Programme
Number of Devolved Administration City Deals
| Year | Number of Devolved Administration City Deals |
|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 6 |
| 2015-16 | 4 |
| 2014-15 | 1 |
Source: City Deals and Growth Deals; release schedule: annually
Number of Combined Authority Mayors elected 6 2016-17
Source: City Deals and Growth Deals; release schedule: annually
Number of projects which received ERDF growth funding 506 by February 2018
Source: MHCLG data collected on ERDF
5. Secure effective support for those affected by the Grenfell Tower disaster, delivering the changes this tragedy demands and ensuring people are safe and feel safe within their homes
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Dominic Raab MP, Minister of State for Housing
Lead official
Jo Farrar, Director General, Local Government and Public Services
5.1 Support for those affected
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Support those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, including working with Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to meet commitments to permanently rehouse households, and to co-design with residents, refurbishment of the Lancaster West Estate. |
| Work with the Grenfell Tower Inquiry to ensure all requests are met in the agreed timeframe and meet the Inquiry’s needs. |
5.2 Ensure residents are and feel safe from fire
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Identify high rise residential buildings that have unsafe aluminium composite material cladding and monitor and support their remediation. |
| Respond to the changes identified in to Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations needed to make the building safety system fit for purpose. |
Our performance
You can find information on how we are doing on the Building Safety Programme page.
6. Support a smooth exit from the European Union
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Jake Berry MP, Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth
Lead official
Simon Ridley, Director General, Decentralisation and Growth
6.1 Support a smooth exit from the European Union
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver a programme to manage the UK’s exit from European funding programmes, in line with the UK’s EU exit objectives and negotiation plan. |
| Deliver a programme to understand and manage the implications of EU exit on local government. |
| Deliver a programme to understand and manage the implications of EU exit on our housing delivery objectives. |
7. Maintain MHCLG as a great place to work
Lead minister
The Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Lead official
Rachel McLean, Director General, Chief Financial Officer
7.1 Our people
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Reduce the time it takes to hire, support the introduction of new tools and technology to improve selection and use a new recruitment hub to reduce the administrative burden on vacancy managers. |
| Develop a Core Curriculum with an enhanced focus on digital, commercial, project delivery and line management capabilities. |
| Continue to prioritise inclusion and diversity and increase representation in the Senior Civil Service. |
| Champion our people through the annual Departmental People Awards, and continue to develop diverse talent. |
7.2 Great policy making
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Ensure our planning, risk management, and performance monitoring capabilities are fit for the challenge of the department’s increased delivery objectives. |
| Optimise our use of data to give ever greater insight into policy development and the outcomes of our work. |
| Build our digital capacity so that the opportunities and risks of the internet age are reflected in all of our policy development and delivery arrangements. |
| Increase flexibility and productivity in the workplace through IT modernisation and better use of physical space. |
| Continue enhancing the governance of our ALBs so that the full resources of the Group are always deployed to best effect. |
Our performance 64% Civil Service People Survey engagement score 2017
Source: Civil Service People Survey
Our equality objectives
We have set objectives to help us advance equality. These are:
- Promote equality in policy work
- Have a representative workforce that places equality and diversity at the core of all employment policies and practices at all levels
- Improve the equality and diversity data we collect and use it to progress talent from underrepresented groups
- Create a more inclusive workplace culture, where employees have equal opportunities to succeed
Our finances
2018/19 Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL): £16.5 billion
2018/19 Resource DEL (including depreciation): £7.1 billion
2018/19 Capital DEL: £9.4 billion
2018/19 Annually Managed Expenditure (AME): £22.6 billion
Control totals included in this document are in line with those presented in the Main Supply Estimates 2018/19 and are currently subject to Parliamentary approval. Any changes arising from the Parliamentary approval process will be reflected in due course.
Source: Main Supply Estimates 2018/19
Our people
As at 31 December 2017, MHCLG had 2,190 full-time equivalent employees, not including its agencies.
Source: ONS Public sector employment data; release schedule: quarterly
How we contribute to cross-government priorities
We work across government on cross-cutting issues, including:
- Housing
- Tackling modern slavery and people trafficking
- Rough sleeping and homelessness reduction
- Industrial Strategy
- Environment and clean growth
- Immigration
- Mental health
- Digital
- Race disparity