Select Committee on Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Written Evidence


Supplementary memorandum by the NewHeartlands Housing Market Renewal (HMR) Pathfinder (EMP 21(a))

  You will recall that whilst the Chairs were giving oral evidence to the Select Committee on Tuesday 8 February the matter of English Partnership investment in pathfinder areas was raised. We said then at the Committee Hearing that we had had excellent support from English Partnerships to date and that our hope was that we would continue to enjoy a similar arrangement in future.

  Since the Committee Hearing there has been an example of how English Partnership might in future deal with requests for funding, appropriate to their purposes, within this Pathfinder, and maybe others. A decision was taken at the English Partnership Executive Board last week not to proceed with an award of some £3.5 million to one of the Merseyside Pathfinder Authorities. Leaving to one side some specific concerns surrounding that particular case I was disturbed to learn that two of the reasons advised at the Executive Board were: firstly, that Pathfinders were to receive an increased allocation of resources from ODPM, and secondly in the light of that and budget challenges that English Partnerships face they are looking to reduce their overall commitment in pathfinders

  There is no question of Pathfinders receiving extra resources or increased allocation in this financial year or next. The increase in allocations for Housing Market Renewal is contained with the recent CSR outcome and relates to the years 2006-07-08. There is however no scope in the short to medium term for the Pathfinder resources to take the place of a reduction in English Partnership's commitment.

  I have arranged to meet as a matter of urgency with the English Partnership Regional Director to explore both the scope for English Partnership's to continue to work closely with this Pathfinder at the scale of resources originally indicated, a sum of £55 million over the lifetime of the NewHeartlands programme. We will consider jointly ways in which the respective obligations of both organisations' can be dovetailed to ensure maximum mutual benefit and outcome. For example, bringing together, perhaps joint commissioning of strategic projects.

  I am concerned, however, at the messages that appear to be emerging from the recent discussions, and second hand from elsewhere in ODPM, that English Partnerships priorities are now changed and that there might be a need to look elsewhere for financial support, the example of RDAs has been given which, until now we had looked for English Partnership to cover.


 
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