The statement follows rumours of doubts over whether the Programme can be delivered. The HCA, which appointed former Infrastructure UK chief Andy Rose as its chief executive this week, is responsible for the Programme outside of London. It is required to spend £751 million of grant funding on building 20,000 homes by 28 March 2013. All 170,000 homes have to be built before April 2015.
A letter sent to registered providers by HCA's head of affordable housing Fiona McGregor in recent weeks requests confirmation over their ability to meet deadlines and threatens to withdraw funding from bodies that could not demonstrate "that remaining starts on site are set to occur in first half of the next financial year".
The letter further states that the HCA "will take account of the position on scheduling out allocations...and will take that into consideration in any decisions about moving allocations".
HCA chair Robert Napier said that he was confident that the agency would deliver the 170,000 homes. He said that the HCA was in continual communication with suppliers over site allocation and he was satisfied with the responses they had received.
HCA says 80% of the programme's schemes, representing plans for 170,000 homes, now have a “firm site identified”.
Meanwhile the Greater London Authority, which is responsible for the delivery of the Programme in London, has informed providers that they have to be on site with schemes by September 2013 or similarly risk losing their funding.
