Performance Improvement in the Public Sector
PwC supported Homes England to overhaul its aged funding application process, which was slowing down the delivery of new homes. PwC designed and implemented a scalable digital solution using Microsoft Dynamics 365, enabling a streamlined, end-to-end service that improves productivity, reduces manual work, and allows for rapid policy response and has already show early results in increased capacity, and greater efficiency in delivering funding for affordable housing.
Homes England is a government agency, established to help solve the country’s housing crisis by providing grants and loans to both non-profit and commercial builders. However, its complex and inefficient application process limited the speed at which funding could be provided and inhibited the construction of new homes. The agency’s staff were being tied up with supporting applicants and rekeying data between the agency’s outdated, siloed systems, which also constrained its capacity to process applications and fund homebuilding programmes.
To accelerate the UK’s immediate housebuilding provision, Homes England needed to improve its productivity and streamline the application process. It also needed scalable, flexible systems that could support internal and external processes, and help the agency respond quickly to future policy changes.
Given the breadth of the client’s business and challenges, PwC’s multidisciplinary team included experts in government and financial services who brought insights from other areas of government, service development to Government Digital Service (GDS) standards, innovative digital banking experience from challenger financial institutions, and user-centred design. Over the project’s duration, the joint Homes England / PwC team involved more than 100 members, with an average of over 40 during the beta phase.
Working with Homes England, PwC designed and developed a solution based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 technology, which includes flexible CRM and ERP functionality and connects to a purpose-built, GDS-compliant application website – at 350+ pages, the largest of its kind, and fully aligned with GDS design principles.
The solution’s flexibility was soon tested. The new 2024 government announced an ambitious homebuilding target, more focused on delivering affordable housing. PwC’s programme team was already working closely with the client to address its challenges for financing new homes, so could adapt quickly to this policy shift. Born out of PwC’s agile BXT process, the solution included standardised, flexible processes with common technologies, which had already undergone extensive prototyping and iteration. PwC’s ‘show not tell’ approach had engaged users and yielded nuanced feedback, while also building readiness. As a result, the client was ready to respond quickly and pivot to an end-to-end digital service for affordable housing grants.
The programme’s result was an end-to-end digital government service that enables housing providers to apply for, contract, draw down and manage grant and loan funding through a more streamlined online experience, to accelerate the financing and building of affordable homes. The work has standardised and improved a complex, multi-phase process, increased productivity and capacity by reducing manual administration, and improved the accuracy and transparency of the agency’s reporting by enhancing data quality.
In private beta testing, the self-service application process has been received enthusiastically by homebuilders, while streamlined systems have reduced support demands on Homes England staff. Initial indications suggest a 20–25% increase in capacity, enabling the agency to deliver more funding, faster, and support a massive acceleration in the building of affordable homes.
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