Homes England: Staff

(asked on 1st March 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the power to designate staff as being in the (a) politically free, (b) politically restricted, and (c) politically intermediate groups has been delegated to Homes England.


Answered by
Stuart Andrew Portrait
Stuart Andrew
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This question was answered on 7th March 2022

The categorisations referenced in the question are related to the Civil Service Code, which does not apply to Homes England staff as they are not civil servants. However, in line with the requirements of Managing Public Money (section 4.9.3), Homes England are required to strive for similar standards, appropriate to their context.

The Homes England Framework Document (para. 31.1) requires the Homes England board to ensure that 'Policies and procedures are in place consistent with the Cabinet Office's Model Code for Staff of Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies'.

This means that it is for Homes England to put in place rules around political activity for their staff. This is set out in Homes England's Conflicts of Interest Policy, communicated to all staff.

Reticulating Splines