Local Partnerships and the Housing and Finance Institute

Local Partnerships is delighted to announce our involvement as one of the founding partners of the Housing and Finance institute (HFi).

We are working closely with Natalie Elphicke, Chair of Million Homes, Million Lives, who is spearheading the establishment of the HFi.

Along with Keith House, Natalie Elphicke co-authored the Elphicke House report which identified a skills and knowledge gap as the major barrier to increased delivery of local authority housing.

The formation of the HFi was announced by the Chancellor in his March 2015 Budget and its implementation is supported by the UK government. The HFi will be an independent, practical and business-based enterprise, working with industry and public sector partners to deliver a step change in housebuilding and housing delivery.

HFi pic 2The objectives of the HFi, as set out by Natalie Elphicke at our recent housing debate on 21 May, are to increase housing supply and unlock opportunities for the public sector and for business and finance through:

• Acting as an “accelerator hub” for housing delivery: to increase the speed and amount of new homes across all tenures
• Supporting new and smaller businesses, and established businesses with an appetite to do more
• Building skills, capacity and relationships
• Improving understanding of development finance and risk
• Promoting new business models, techniques and methods for housing delivery
• Identifying and promoting development opportunities
• Undertaking a problem solving role between government, central government and business on matters such as finance, public accounting, procurement and value for money.

Increasing housing supply is a manifesto commitment of the new government and Local Partnerships is delighted to have been invited to assist the Institute with its thinking around development and delivery of this key priority. We will help to articulate the issues faced by councils in this arena and look forward to joining and helping form, the debate at the inaugural meeting of the HFi on 16 June 2015.