The Government has not made an assessment on the effectiveness of housing co-operatives and we do not hold information on the number of people living in housing co-operatives. The Government recognises that the community-led housing sector, of which housing co-operatives are an important part, offers significant potential for helping to meet housing need across England. In addition to helping to increase the rate of delivery of new housing, community-led housing will help to deliver a range of benefits including diversifying the housebuilding sector, improving design and construction quality, developing modern methods of construction, and sustaining local communities and local economies. The support and close involvement of the local community enables the community-led approach to secure planning permission and deliver housing that could not be brought forward through speculative development.