Question
Asked By
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they monitor the Homes and Communities Agency in respect of its statutory duty to deliver good design.
My Lords, there is a programme of regular engagement between Ministers, officials and the HCA that covers the entire remit of the HCA, including the monitoring of its contribution to this particular object. The HCA recognises that design and sustainability are not add-ons to place-making and regeneration but critical parts of a successful development process, which is why in its corporate plan it has committed to working closely with partners on design issues.
While the Government have been right to accelerate housebuilding for economic and social reasons, why have they and the Homes and Communities Agency repeated the errors of the past in subsidising substandard housing with the all too predictable results of a poor quality of life for people who have to live in these homes and high costs of maintenance and early replacement? Following their welcome announcement last May that they would set minimum design standards for all publicly funded new building, will the Government now apply this policy with clear targets and independent assessment for the Homes and Communities Agency, planning authorities and the housebuilding industry?
My Lords, my noble friend is right to say that Kickstart has provided a much needed boost to the construction industry at a time of extremely difficult economic circumstances, but quality was not neglected. Where initial assessments gave concern, further work was done. Those schemes that the HCA could not be satisfied provided adequate value for money, including quality, did not pass due diligence. My noble friend refers to the May 2009 announcement around World Class Places, which sets out the Government’s strategy for improving quality of place.
The Government have been working with the HCA to develop a new set of core design and quality standards to be applied to new homes that are funded and facilitated by the HCA. The HCA is due to publish a consultation paper shortly.
My Lords, I am involved in the property market. We have the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, the HCA’s design and sustainable development team, the Advisory Team for Large Applications, the National Consultancy Unit and the Urban Design Compendium—five different government organisations all promoting high-quality design, and still we get grotty designs. Surely this is a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth and wasting government money. Should they not be merged or scrapped?
My Lords, I do not accept the description of “accepting grotty designs”. As I have just explained in relation to Kickstart—an important programme to stimulate the housing market—where CABE’s initial assessment indicated a lack of quality there was follow-up on that, as the CABE exercise was a desk-top exercise; if it did not have the available information it would score the project as a zero, and the follow-up was important for getting a proper assessment.
With regard to clarity on design standards going forward, the HCA inherited a range of standards from its predecessor bodies, which is why the focus is now on a consultation to ensure that we have clear standards. Stakeholders are to be involved in that consultation.
My Lords, is the Minister aware that 27 of the private sector projects funded by the HCA scored five or less out of 20 on the industry’s Building for Life benchmark and two of them scored just 1.5 out of 20? Does that demonstrate the HCA meeting its good design standards and, if not, what will he do about it?
Well, my Lords, as I tried to explain, CABE undertook its assessment as a desk-top exercise, as it was asked to do, as part of the assessment for the Kickstart project. That enabled the HCA to follow up and look at the schemes in the broader context. For example, if a wider development were planned, that would impact on the judgment of whether the design was appropriate or not. That follow-up process produced further input into the evaluation of whether there was proper quality. Quality was taken into account together with value for money and deliverability, because this is about kick-starting the housing market.
My Lords, while it was rather miserable to have to bail out some of the builders by supporting projects that were pretty second rate, does the Minister agree that, by and large, the HCA's record on design is very good? Has he seen an article in this week’s Inside Housing, the magazine of the housing sector, in which Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive of the HCA, points out that we are building the smallest houses with the smallest rooms in Europe, and that the HCA is committed to changing that and producing better designs in the future?
My Lords, obviously the HCA is a relatively new body, but I agree with the noble Lord that it takes very seriously the issue of design, which is why this consultation is so important. To recap on an earlier discussion about the schemes that were scored low in the CABE assessment, on review of the 80 schemes scoring less than 10 points, 65 were revisited and had their scores increased when complete information was made available.
My Lords, we have time for the right reverend Prelate and then my noble friend.
My Lords, in 2006, the Government gave an undertaking that by 2016 all new homes would be carbon neutral. Is the HCA committed to that target?
My Lords, the target is under review—in particular what “carbon neutral” actually means. A consultation is under way to seek to clarify and establish that.
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that well designed homes add enormously to human well-being and that the many are as entitled to that as the few? Will he not tie grant levels to the quality of design and ensure that there is a minimum design threshold in round 2 of Kickstart?
My Lords, the assessment of design is very much part of what the HCA, as the funder of Kickstart and other projects, has to take into account. That is the same for phase 2 of Kickstart, as it was for phase 1.
My Lords, assuming that the Minister agrees that at a time of financial stringency good design is even more important than otherwise, because it is not just about the aesthetic but about utility and value for money, and given all the standards that are around, will he assure the House that processes will be accelerated to ensure that good design is brought in more quickly than it would otherwise happen?
My Lords, the Government are committed to doing that as expeditiously as possible. I should stress that the HCA inherited a range of different design standards and it needs to rationalise those. That will be the subject of a consultation due to start shortly. I trust that the consultation will be followed up with the sort of clarity that the noble Lord and other noble Lords are seeking.