The government has announced a review of its housing and regeneration delivery bodies as part of a wider programme to deliver better sustainable communities.

It will examine a merger of the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships, as predicted in Building, as part of the review.

Responses to the Review of Housing and Regeneration, called for by deputy prime minister John Prescott and local government and communities minister David Miliband, should be in by 19 May. The report is expected to go to ministers in July, with decisions announced during the summer.

One housing and regeneration expert said this short time-frame implied that the ODPM had a set idea of which direction to head in. He said: "It's pretty short and sharp, suggesting that they are fairly advanced in their thinking."

Commenting on the potential merger between the two bodies, Roger Humber, policy adviser to the House Builders Association, said it wasn't clear what the benefits of the merger would be.

He said: "Are the skills required to regulate and manage the funding of RSLs the same as those needed for land assembly? Might we end up diminishing the skills of both bodies? I'm not sure the benefits would merit the upheaval involved."

Might we end up diminishing the skills of both bodies?

Roger Humber, housing policy adviser

A merger between the two organisations was widely considered three years ago, but has become more likely in recent months following moves by the Audit Commission to reform regulation of public services.

Both Peter Dixon, Housing Corporation chair, and English Partnerships chair Margaret Ford said they welcomed the review.

Miliband insisted that the review would consider a wider range of issues than just the future of the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships.