HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE FUND

Infrastructure and Construction

Record date: 31 March 2026

Whole-life cost: £4.3bn
Published schedule: 30/12/2016 – 31/03/2028
NISTA delivery confidence: Not disclosed
Senior responsible owner: Cathy Francis, Lise-Anne Boissiere

What the project is for

The Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) provides capital funding for critical infrastructure, such as transport, utilities and site remediation, to unlock housing delivery. The programme is expected to unlock the construction of circa 255k homes.

Departmental delivery commentary

The SRO Delivery Confidence Assessment (DCA) rating at 25/26 Q4 remained at Amber. The rating reflects the delivery broadly in line with expectations alongside ongoing complexity in the final stages of the programme. Homes England and MHCLG have proactively managed risk across the largest and most complex Forward Fund projects, where the majority of remaining activity is concentrated. While delivery remains stable, external market, economic and environmental factors continue to impact progress at project level and require active mitigation. The programme has responded to assurance findings, implementing NISTA recommendations including revisions to delegated authority limits to streamline decision-making and further development of the risk and controls framework to reflect programme maturity. With the National Housing Delivery Fund now approved and launched, HIF will transition into a unified governance structure, strengthening oversight and ensuring consistent management of delivery, risk, cost and performance across legacy and successor activity.

Schedule

There has been no change to the schedule for the programme.

Cost

The WLC has decreased by £131m, reflecting a number of material amendments across the programme and adjustments for inflation in real terms. These include project withdrawals and changes to delivery scope and timing, with some costs being deferred into later years as schemes progress. The incorporation of HIF headroom into the NHDF portfolio has also contributed to changes in future expenditure projections.

Benefits

Change requests this Financial Year have had a mixture of positive and negative impacts on monetised benefits resulting in no significant changes to monetised benefits. The programme delivers benefits through enabling infrastructure (including roads, rail and schools) and the unlocking of net additional homes, alongside wider economic and regeneration impacts. Evidence gathered through the HIF Benefits Strategy is informing the approach to reporting both monetisable and non-monetisable outcomes.