A damning report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recently warned MPs that Government needs to tackle ‘inherent problems at the heart of the planning system’ to have any hope of reaching its ambitious goal of building 300,000 homes a year. The report claims the Department for Housing ‘simply does not have the mechanisms in place to achieve the ... target’ and urges ministers to set out their plans to boost building rates by October. 

The number of new homes built has recovered from a dramatic slump following the financial crisis to 222,000 in 2018, but the 10-year average is still just 177,000.  So, there’s no question that Britain continues to face a chronic housing shortage – one that won’t disappear unless urgent and strident action is taken.