A new consultation into the ability of the country to meet the demands for new homes has been launched by MPs…
The Communities and Local Government Committee is calling upon chief executives of major developers to give their perspective on the country’s ability to meet housing demand.
The inquiry will examine the role small and medium-sized housebuilders can play in meeting homebuilding targets, the availability of skilled workers, and how streamlined the planning process is.
The committee will examine innovative ways of getting the nation building such as the role of self-builds, off-site construction, and direct commissioning from central government.
Among those invited to give their views on the issue will be ministers, industry bodies, the Homes and Communities Agency, local authorities, and housing associations. Skills and training experts, as well as financiers, off-site construction experts and self-builder will also be questioned.
The committee is looking for evidence on the following issues:
- whether the numbers of builders and types of firms in the homebuilding industry is sufficient to meet housing demand
- the structure of the homebuilding industry, in particular the role of small and medium-sized developers
- housebuilders’ business models and how risk and uncertainty affect incentives to expand
- the sustainability, size and skills of the building industry workforce
- why fewer homes are being started and completed than the number of planning permissions being granted
- the extent to which current planning approaches cause delays to the building of new homes
- innovative approaches to increasing the housing supply, for example self-build, off-site construction and direct commissioning by central government and local housing companies
- the role of development finance and how it can promote or constrain housing investment
Chair of the committee Clive Betts MP said: “The capacity of the homebuilding industry is a key factor in housing supply, which is simply not keeping up with demand and has left us in the midst of a crisis.
“The Committee will cast a critical eye over the major homebuilders, examine the decline of small and medium-sized developers and look closely at the skills shortages, planning delays and finance issues hampering the industry.
“Our wide-ranging inquiry will also explore alternative models, such as self-builds and off-site construction, to see if such innovative approaches to homebuilding can help address the country’s housing needs.”
Written submissions must be sent by 12 September 2016. To submit evidence, please visit here.