27 June 2003
Ministers face a race against the clock to spend an extra £22m devoted to housing as part of the three-year Spending Review.
Unless the money is allocated by next month, the government's Sustainable Communities plan would be at risk, a leading civil servant told the Chartered Institute of Housing's annual conference on June 18.
Mavis McDonald, permanent secretary at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, admitted government departments do not have a good record when it comes to 'spending up' part-way through a review period.
But that means the ODPM needs to win quickly the support of social landlords, private developers and other parties, she told the Harrogate audience.
'We have targets for decent homes and we have targets for increased supply [of housing]. We can't guarantee them ourselves,' she said.
The ODPM will announce shortly how much money will be given to market renewal pathfinders in the Midlands and the North, along with bids by developers that have been successful in four growth areas in the Southeast.
Most of the £22m needs to be allocated before Parliament goes into recess in mid-July, she said.
Commenting on the appointment 24 hours earlier of Keith Hill as the third housing minister in three years, McDonald said: 'We're going to have to move fast. We must not get into a lull. We don't have time for that.'
David Butler, chief executive of the CIH, said ministers seemed impatient about the pace of delivery. 'The whole agenda seems to have a momentum of its own. There is a danger professional bodies will be overlooked.'
Later in the week, Yvette Cooper made her first speech as junior housing minister, announcing a £2m fund for tackling poor private landlords in five pilot areas.
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