"The Programme
to make social sector housing and private sector housing for
vulnerable people decent has made progress, and the families living
in those properties will be enjoying the benefits. However, there
are risks to both the Programme’s completion and what has been
achieved so far if a reliable funding mechanism is not put in place
to deliver the remainder of the Programme and to maintain homes to
a decent standard. Hundreds of thousands of families are still
living in properties which are not warm, weather tight, or in a
reasonable state of repair. The Department’s efforts have been
undermined by weaknesses in the information it
holds.
There are
important lessons here on the benefits of having clear information
on Programmes when delivery is devolved to a local
level."
Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, 21 January
2010
It is estimated that over a million social
homes have been improved by the Department for Communities and
Local Government’s Decent Homes Programme, which aims to improve
the condition of homes for social housing tenants. The
Department has also provided funding to improve conditions for
vulnerable households in private sector accommodation. But the
National Audit Office has warned that there are weaknesses in the
information collected by the Department which has reduced its
assurance that value for money was being achieved.
A National Audit Office report to Parliament
has found that the Government’s Programme has made progress and
that, as of April 2009, 86 per cent of homes in the social sector
were classed as decent. The Programme has also brought wider
benefits such as improved housing management, tenant involvement
and employment opportunities.
There is however much left still to do. The
original target was that all social sector homes would be decent by
2010, but by November 2009 the Department was estimating that
approximately 92 per cent of social housing would meet the standard
by 2010, leaving 305,000 properties ‘non-decent’. 100 per cent
decency would not be achieved until 2018-19.
The National Audit Office has concluded that
there are weaknesses in the information collected by the
Department, warning that information gaps create a risk to value
for money. Weaknesses in the Department’s information are
illustrated by uncertainties over the total cost of the Programme
to itself or to the sector and the number of properties
improved.
The Department is committed to funding the
Programme and is currently reviewing the funding mechanism. But,
unless a plan is put in place to appropriately fund housing
repairs, there remains a risk that a backlog will again build up,
reducing the value for money of what has been achieved so far.
Publication details:
HC: 212, 2009-10
ISBN: 9780102963410