The core functions of the Housing Corporation – investment and regulation – will survive the ODPM's end-to-end review of the quango.
Sources have confirmed that the review team – which had its final meeting on Wednesday and is due to report in April – has concluded that "the core functions of investment and regulation are to be kept by the corporation".

There had been speculation that the review – unveiled by Housing Today in September and led by Genie Turton, outgoing ODPM director general of housing and planning – would threaten the corporation with the loss of one or both roles.

The sources, who have seen a final draft of the review, also said the ODPM would come in for some "stiff criticism" but that this had been toned down from earlier drafts of the report.

One source said: "Once the thing was dug into, it became much more about how the ODPM had let things slip than the corporation going to the dogs."

Another person close to the review team said: "There are no earth-shattering proposals from this. What it does do is give [incoming corporation chief] Jon Rouse a solid platform to work from."

The main points to be made by the review are:

  • greater "clarity" is needed about the corporation's investment and regulatory roles and its relationship with the Audit Commission, which has taken over the inspection of housing associations, to ensure there is no blurring of the boundaries between the two
  • the investment role of the regional housing boards to be made clearer
  • the ODPM should include the corporation much more in internal discussions on policy
  • efficiency in bodies that work with the corporation must be tightened.

A source at the ODPM said: "One of the things we've got to do is make sure we're engaging properly with the corporation on strategic issues."

It is expected that Richard McCarthy, who is to take over responsibility in the ODPM for the corporation after Turton departs in April, will move quickly to shore up the relationship between the ODPM, regeneration quango English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation. The source said: "The key is for the government to build more houses and this is what Richard wants to make happen."

Source

Housing Today