To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) by what mechanisms the Homes and Communities Agency measures its progress in meeting its statutory duty to improve the quality of housing; (316940)

Two of the HCA's four statutory objects are to (i) improve the supply and quality of housing in England and (ii) contribute to the achievement of sustainable development and good design in England. The HCA inherited standards for certain of its programmes, setting minimum criteria which must be achieved before funding is provided. Regular checks and audits are undertaken to ensure these requirements are delivered. The HCA have established advisory Boards to assist with these issues, and plan to issue a design and quality strategy later this year. Details of these panels, including membership, can be found on the HCA's website:

www.homesandcommunities.co.uk

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria the Homes and Communities Agency used to assess the design quality and viability of housing schemes for the purposes of awarding funding under Round 1 of the Kickstart programme; and what account was taken of the assessments made by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in its capacity as adviser on that programme. (316942)

The criteria used by the HCA to assess the design quality and viability of housing schemes under Round 1 of the Kickstart programme can be found in the Round 1 ‘Kickstart Housing Delivery: Unlocking Stalled Sites’ guidance located on HCA's website. Design quality was part of the overall value for money assessment of Kickstart bids, alongside deliverability and the capacity to create jobs. CABE assessments were used to highlight schemes where more attention was needed and were the basis for further assessment by HCA regional teams. The HCA regional teams were able to augment the CABE assessment with additional relevant local information to inform final decisions on award of funding.