Royal Assent for HCA » Housing » 24dash.com

The creation of the new Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) reached a major milestone today as the Housing and Regeneration Bill received Royal Assent to become an Act.

This paves the way for England’s single housing and regeneration agency to come into existence in early December. It will bring together English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation and the Academy for Sustainable Communities, together with some delivery functions of Communities and Local Government (CLG). Focusing on growth, renewal, affordability and sustainability, the HCA will create opportunities for people to live in homes they can afford in places they want to live, and enable local authorities to achieve their ambitions.

Sir Bob Kerslake, who was appointed as Chief Executive Designate of the HCA in January and took up his post at the beginning of April, said: “This Act makes the early December launch of the HCA a reality. It is the successful culmination of a huge amount of work by Parliament, CLG and the HCA Set-up Team. The intensive testing process has resulted in the strongest possible Act and the best possible start for the new agency."

A number of amendments have been made as a result of the intense scrutiny of the Act, such as the inclusion of a requirement for the HCA to contribute to good design. New clauses have also been added obliging the HCA to consult local government. This gives statutory force to the LGA-HCA protocol, a draft of which was published on 3 July.

The HCA will be a flexible organisation that can adapt to changing economic circumstances to deliver housing growth and regeneration across England. Its key objectives are to support the delivery of the new homes target by 2020, and to secure 180,000 new affordable homes by 2011. A core strength will be its ability to have a single conversation with local authorities and other partners to deliver the ambitions of local areas.