English Partnerships believes that this is an important subject, but this letter explains why we do not, on this occasion, intend to submit separate evidence to the Committee to supplement the material you have already received from our Sponsor Department.

  English Partnerships fully supports the DPM's 18 July statement on housing and planning and is committed to achieving its objectives as one of the key delivery bodies of the ODPM. The programme it sets out is realistic and achievable and provides a close fit to the recent announcement of a fresh mandate for English Partnerships.

  This fresh mandate is for the organisation to be "a key player in the delivery of the new sustainable communities agenda". It was set out in the DPM's announcement of 24 July, following the ODPM's fundamental Review of English Partnerships. The timing of this announcement shortly after the 18 July statement illustrates the close relationship between the two issues. The Review recognised English Partnerships as a key vehicle for delivering sustainable communities, helping the Government to meet its targets for accommodating household growth, tackling abandonment, and setting out a strategy to make best use of brownfield land.

  In delivering this substantial programme of work, English Partnerships will operate closely alongside the Housing Corporation, the Regional Development Agencies, Local Authorities and other public and private partners. We will use our expertise in project planning and delivery to support their own activities in order to unlock the development potential of difficult and strategic landholdings across England. Everything we do will reflect high standards of design, construction, environment and sustainability.

  These high standards are apparent in our Millennium Communities programme, which seeks to improve the deliverability of sustainable communities. The programme champions best practice and challenges developers and investors to plan and build to a much higher standard. At the same time, it demonstrates that this does not prevent them from returning a profit, indeed it often adds to the long-term return from an investment. Our work in the New Towns, described in our previous submission on this subject, will also play a major role in stimulating housing growth in the four target areas.

  The role of English Partnerships and the contribution we can make to the creation of sustainable communities were set out in our two recent submissions to the Committee on the future of the New Towns and on the effectiveness of Area Regeneration. We also fully support the ODPM's detailed submission to the Committee of 25 September, which provides further information on the framework for our activities.

  There is not, at this stage, anything that we can add to the extensive material already submitted to the Committee on this subject. We will, however, follow the Inquiry with interest and will keep you fully informed on the further development of our role and work programme.