Guidance

Homes England Public Body Review: terms of reference

Published 26 June 2023

Applies to England

Background

Homes England is the government’s housing and regeneration agency across England, established by statute as a Non-Departmental Public Body in the Homes and Communities Act 2008. Homes England works across England, except in London where much of the agency’s role is devolved to the London Mayor. The agency 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
• supports consumers through the provision of safer homes, including through the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ (DLUHC) building safety interventions
• in its delivery of the Help to Buy programme it is also the sixth largest mortgage lender in the country

The agency has a range of statutory powers (including compulsory purchase) that it can use to deliver its objectives. Its workforce brings specialisms across housing, regeneration, land development, investment, finance and risk management. Homes England has a set of Statutory Objectives established through the 2008 Act:

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

At formation there was a strong focus on housing supply – enshrined in the initial strategic plan.  Its scope and remit has evolved over time – with a stronger focus on regeneration and remediation in recent years. The Levelling Up White Paper formally broadened Homes England’s mission and objectives to help drive regeneration and placemaking.

The agency was last reviewed in 2016 (as the Homes and Communities Agency) under the previous 2015 - 2020 Tailored Review Programme. The Tailored Review was a fundamental review of the existence of the body, as it was then constituted, and recommended the formation of Homes England. The work, leadership, structure, and objectives of the agency have evolved considerably since 2016.

Scope and purpose of this review

Since the last full review in 2016, Homes England’s remit has increased as departmental priorities have evolved, and it now delivers a broad range of functions beyond its original core housing and regeneration objectives agreed in its the 2018 Strategic Plan.

In light of the changing expectations – in 2020 three separate internal reviews were conducted. The reviews recommended improvements to partnership working (between the agency and DLUHC), governance structures, accountability, and purpose. Over the past 12 months DLUHC and Homes England have been implementing the recommendations.

These reviews do not remove the need for a Public Body Review, which will be broader and more outward looking. The Public Body Review will seek to ensure that it does not unnecessarily replicate the work of previous internal reviews and will use them (and others conducted within Home England) to inform this work.

The agency has performed a detailed self-assessment in line with the Cabinet Office Public Body Review framework. DLUHC has used this tool to identify efficacy and efficiency as areas in need of further assessment by the Public Body Review.

Efficacy

In respect to function the Review will assess:

• how the Agency’s direction and objectives are set by DLUHC
• how these fit into DLUHC’s wider objectives and business planning
• the extent to which Homes England’s delivery of its statutory functions, its Strategic Plan (recently agreed with DLUHC) and its key performance indicators align with the current strategic priorities of DLUHC and wider government objectives and priorities in particular levelling up, promoting economic growth and environmental sustainability
• whether it is necessary for the role of Homes England to change as devolution to local authorities and mayoral combined authorities expands and deepens, including looking at, the Agency’s relations with local and regional actors in an increasingly devolved delivery environment
• whether all of the functions that the Agency are carrying out are appropriately delivered by a Public Body and if so Homes England

In respect to form the Review will assess:

• whether the current powers, legal form and delivery model of Homes England are appropriate to the functions it is expected to perform
• the extent to which Homes England is structured and has the appropriate financial tools, powers and delegations to deliver effective, agreed outcomes now and in the future, including in the context of functions expected in terms of devolution, levelling up and regeneration
• whether there are existing service provider/s or private sector partners, or a different tier of government, that could deliver any of the functions more effectively
• whether Homes England is operating at an appropriate ‘length of arms’ from DLUHC to ensure the right balance between alignment with government priorities and ability to deliver
• whether the way the agency and its programmes are assessed allows it to deliver social and economic value

In respect to outcomes for partners, stakeholders and customers the review will assess:

• the extent to which Homes England is delivering its objectives for customers and stakeholders – including:
  • effectively responding to its statutory objectives
  • how customer-focused the agency is (for example – are services offered well understood and regarded by the sectors they support, and easily accessible)
• areas where further action by the government and/or Homes England would help Homes England deliver its statutory objectives

Efficiency

• whether there is inefficiency between DLUHC and Homes England as a result of ways of working
• is the balance of resources across the agency appropriately balanced for effective delivery
• whether there is duplication between the work of Homes England, DLUHC and mayoral combined authorities/ local authorities
• whether Homes England is implementing measures to maximise operational efficiency – based on benchmarking its performance and costs to comparable bodies.
• identify if further savings to Resource Departmental Expenditure Limits (RDEL) of more than 5% in nominal terms as of 22/23 budgets could be made – with reference to previous savings required through SR21
• whether Homes England’s approach to digitisation is appropriate, and the case for further digitisation to enhance efficiency and customer service

Governance and accountability

These will be considered but largely drawing on material from the internal reviews already conducted and their implementation, where these areas were a major focus.

If there are significant changes recommended as a result of the work on efficacy and efficiency, it may be that these need to be revisited. The review will consider the following issues:

• the effectiveness of the Homes England board
• the extent to which the board is clear about purpose and government priorities
• efficiency of arrangements for governance, risk management and internal control
• the effectiveness of recent improvements to joint working arrangements with DLUHC.
• whether Homes England adheres to existing financial guidance and functional standards and has controls to assure high standards in relation to:
  • managing public money
  • risk
  • probity
  • value for money

Methodology

The lead reviewer, supported by the review team, will consult a broad range of stakeholders including UK government departments, consumers, businesses, and representative bodies, as well as with Homes England’s own board, staff and senior management.

Evidence will be collected through a combination of internal stakeholder interviews, external stakeholder engagement, focused ‘calls for evidence’ and desk-based research. Specialist advice will be sought as necessary. The review will also take account of other pieces of work and internal reviews that have recently considered the approach to the themes above.

The lead reviewer, Tony Poulter, is being supported by an External Advisory Panel. This is a group of external senior leaders to support the lead reviewer in developing the shape of the review programme, testing high level findings, providing an external perspective, and offering specific expert support and challenge to assumptions. This group is formed of the below members:

• Dame Alison Nimmo
• Fiona Fletcher-Smith
• Steven Williamson
• Steve Coffey
• Sir Howard Bernstein
• Mike Dunn