Council Housebuilding Support Fund: If your bid is successful
What is expected of successful applicants to the Council Housebuilding Support Fund.
Applies to England
Memorandum of understanding
Councils awarded funding from the Council Housebuilding Support Fund will be required to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
This will reflect the activities, projects and milestones provided as part of a council’s application.
The memorandum of understanding will set out agreed delivery milestones, reporting arrangements and the expected profile of expenditure. Payments will be made in line with the details set out in the memorandum of understanding.
A Statement of Grant Usage will be required. This must be certified by the relevant Section 151 Responsible Financial Officer and set out the funded activities for each financial year in which the grant was paid.
Payments
Payments will be made in full once the memorandum of understanding has been agreed,
Expenditure incurred by councils before being informed of a successful application is entirely at their own risk.
Payments are only expected to be made in the financial year in which they are awarded for activities to be delivered in that financial year.
Where an approved proposal includes eligible activity that spans more than 1 financial year, payments will be made in the financial year in which the activity is due to be completed. Payment cannot be received for activities that the applicant does not intend to complete within the relevant financial year.
Evaluation
In addition to monitoring arrangements to ensure that proposals are being delivered, councils may be asked to provide information. This is to support evaluation of:
- the Council Housebuilding Support Fund
- the wider Capacity to Build programme
This will help MHCLG and Homes England assess how funded activities have contributed to the programmes’ objectives.