The Department failed to put in place external evaluation at the launch of the NHDF, risking gaps in early data collection and limiting opportunities for timely improvements. Despite launching the NHDF in March 2026 the Department has given itself another twelve months to finish its scoping and feasibility work for external evaluation. It is important the Department concludes this work at the earliest opportunity so it knows which data is needed to conduct quality evaluations and can put in plans to collect it. Early learning based on robust analysis of performance increases understanding of what works to unlock land and enables timely improvements to the NHDF, increasing its effectiveness over the long term. The Department is planning to run internal evaluations alongside its external evaluation and plans to have clear review points with HM Treasury and the National Infrastructure Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) to ensure lessons can be learned and applied. It is important the Department continues work to get its evaluation in place without delay. recommendation a. As part of its Treasury Minute response, the Department should update the committee on progress letting contracts for the evaluation of the NHDF. b. The Department should write to the Committee setting out in detail how its evaluation of the NHDF will work once it has finalised its plans. 6 1 Measuring the success of unlocking land funding Introduction