Mr Nicholas Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Nicholas Brown on 2014-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on devolution of the Affordable Homes programme to (a) combined authorities and (b) local enterprise partnerships.

Kris Hopkins

Housing policy and the provision of affordable housing is not a function of combined authorities or Local Enterprise Partnerships.

Elected local councils act as both the local housing authorities and local planning authorities, and we should be cautious about any intervention which effectively transferred power upwards.

Notwithstanding, in the recent Affordable Homes Programme prospectus, we have stated that local authorities will want to engage in strategic dialogue with their Local Enterprise Partnerships when identifying key areas for economic growth.