The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is "manifestly not up to the job". That is the verdict of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The Thames Gateway is the largest regeneration and new housing programme managed by the DCLG. It focuses on the area between Canary Wharf in London and the mouth of the River Thames, a length of approximately 40 miles. The Government hopes that 160,000 new homes and 180,000 new jobs will be created in the area by 2016, and further development beyond that date.

If successful the Thames Gateway will make a significant contribution to the number of new homes needed in the Greater South East area and potentially could add a further £12bn a year to the nation's economy.

However according to the report,work on major sites is being held up because agreement on main transport links had not been reached, and the target of 160,000 new homes would be missed by 65,000 unless the building rate was speeded up.

The report has said that despite already spending £673m on the project since 2003 the DCLG has yet to establish such things as a budget, implementation plan, joint risk management, appropriate financial incentives, a performance management framework for delivery partners, public reporting on progress, and measurable performance indicators.

The report has called the DCLG’S management of the project ‘weak’. It added that without improving its management Thames Gateway will remain a series of disjointed projects and is unlikely to achieve its potential to make a major difference to economic regeneration and sustainable housing.