My Lords, that is some intimidating experience from quite a number of your Lordships, which I cannot possibly hope to match. However, your Lordships will be aware that a recently concluded strategic land and property review identified the scope to generate something like £5 billion in receipts from both land and property to support growth and drive efficiency. The Homes and Communities Agency will have an important role to play in leading this programme from next year. However, it may not always be the best or the only delivery option. The noble Lord, Lord Smith, gave us an illustration from Greater Manchester. He obviously has great expertise and played a very significant role in Greater Manchester.
As I say, local authorities also have a vital contribution to make, and in some cases this may mean transferring sites to them. I am keen that we explore the best options for delivery, taking into account local circumstances. So while our clause does not mention local authorities, to respond to my noble friend Lord Tope, there may indeed be benefits to exploring whether they should be included in the clause, which may smooth the process of transferring sites from central
government’s arm’s-length bodies to local authorities, where this is the best option locally and supports the delivery of local and national priorities.
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I must be clear, however, that we will need to firmly establish that there is a need for this change and, if so, decide whether an amendment to this clause is the most appropriate vehicle for it. In agreeing to consider, the Government are committing not to making the amendment but to considering whether something of this nature might be needed and, if so, the mechanism and legislation that should be used to provide for it.
The HCA is the Government’s land disposal agent for England outside London, and it is expected that surplus developable land will typically transfer to the HCA. However, as I underscored earlier, there may be occasions where a transfer to the local authorities would offer the greatest benefit to local development needs, and we would be keen to ensure such. I assure the Committee that we have already been working with local enterprise partnerships through growth deals to consider how the public estate as a whole could be better used to support local housing and economic growth, alongside finding those relevant efficiency savings.
The HCA has a strong reputation for its work with local partners—for example, through city deals in Birmingham, Manchester and Preston, where it is working closely with the local authorities on how HCA land can be used to accelerate or create additional economic benefits. I do not have the Manchester example with me, but in Preston the HCA has supported an ambitious infrastructure fund that unlocked a number of key HCA sites for housing and employment use. It will support more than 17,000 new homes and 20,000 jobs over the next 10 years. The HCA has been working with Birmingham City Council to develop a targeted programme of development activity to unlock the council’s land and create economic and housing growth. The HCA will commit its receipts from the sites that it sells to reinvest in the local area.
The HCA has worked with the city council in Bristol, establishing a land property board and the development of a joint land portfolio for the public sector estate in Bristol. This will allow a combined, co-ordinated approach for public sector land in the city. I hope that through that I can underscore that the HCA recognises the importance of working co-operatively with local authorities and local communities to come through with the best outcome.
As I say, we will explore the issues that are raised in this amendment; I will take it away and consider further whether we should extend our clause to include local authorities or whether an alternative route would be more effective. With that, I hope noble Lords will feel able to withdraw the amendment.