NAO Calls For Clarity Ahead Of New Housing Delivery Fund

A new report from the National Audit Office examines government programmes designed to unlock land for housing and highlights the steps needed to ensure value for money as a new National Housing Delivery Fund (NHDF) is launched.

Since 2016, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government and Homes England have allocated £10.5 billion to land-unlocking programmes intended to create capacity for around 713,000 homes. To date, around £8.4 billion has been committed and £5.7 billion spent, supporting work on 768 sites.

The NAO reports that just over 33,000 homes are currently known to have been built on land unlocked through these programmes. However, the department did not originally track the number of homes built across all schemes, though work is now under way to improve monitoring.

From April 2026, MHCLG plans to launch the NHDF, bringing together previous land-unlocking programmes and broadening the scope of housing support. The NAO says the fund’s success will depend on clear ambitions, transparent funding priorities, effective risk management, and robust tracking of both land unlocked and homes delivered.

The watchdog also notes that much of the existing programme activity will continue well into the 2030s and recommends that MHCLG and Homes England ensure these legacy projects deliver their intended benefits alongside the new fund.

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said the new fund must be underpinned by “clear ambitions and priorities for investment” so that public spending genuinely helps unlock the homes the country needs.

Read the full report here