Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

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Monitoring and review of the RHS
Monitoring
9.15 Monitoring of the RHS is essential to test the effectiveness of implementation of the strategy. The
key measures of success to be monitored need to relate to the RHS’s overall vision, and appropriate
indicators will need to be developed that will help monitor strategy implementation in the
following key areas:
• balancing housing supply with need and demand
• bringing the Region’s housing stock up to decent standards
• ensuring that communities are sustainable.
9.16 As part of its new responsibilities as Regional Housing Body, EERA will need to have an up to date
knowledge of trends in terms of house prices, household incomes, interest rates, demographic
changes and other economic, social and cultural changes that may affect housing need, supply
and demand. This will inform the process of monitoring.
9.17 EERA is required to submit an Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) to the Secretary of State by the
end of February each year as part of its role as Regional Planning Body. The main purpose of the
AMR is to monitor the implementation of the RSS (known as the East of England Plan). Given the
linkages between RSS and RHS, there is merit in a joint approach to monitoring specifically in
relation to affordable housing delivery. Similarly the RES, also developed alongside the RSS, will
have many shared monitoring requirements in terms of the regional economy and labour markets.
9.18 Further work is needed to identify more exactly the shared monitoring requirements of
the RSS, RHS and RES. EERA is planning a short study to this effect which will identify a set of
common indicators. Data relating to these indicators can then be drawn together annually, and
reported on in an extended AMR. This will form a fundamental part of the monitoring of the RHS.
9.19 The RHS Action Plan, will inform the exact timing and nature of monitoring activity beyond that
covered in the AMR. This should also be completed on an annual basis by EERA in conjunction
with the technical advisory group, RHDG.
Review
9.20 The East of England RHS will be subject to review at an appropriate medium-term planning
horizon before the end of the period of this strategy 2005–2010. An earlier review may be
triggered by:
• any changes in the East of England Plan or other complementary strategies which alter the
basis for the RHS
• unanticipated changes in the housing market, economy or other external environment of
the RHS
• significant changes in national housing policy.
9.21 There is also the possibility for a more targeted review and/or update of specific sections or policies
in the RHS as and when required. This may also be triggered by changes to the East of England
Plan, changes to the external context for the RHS, or improvements to the evidence base for the
RHS which change the basis for a specific policy.