Committee Launches Inquiry Into Housebuilding Industry Capacity

An inquiry has been launched into the housebuilding industry to see if the sector has the required capacity to meet demand for new homes in the UK.

It is expected the Communities and Local Government Committee will invite chief executives of major developers to give evidence.

In addition, the inquiry will cover the role of SME developers, including the skills, size of sustainability of the workforce, the planning process and development finance.

Ministers, representatives of industry bodies, the Homes and Communities Agency, local authorities and housing associations will all also be invited to give public evidence, as well as Skills and training experts, members of the off-site construction and self-build sectors and debt and equity financiers.

Clive Betts MP, Chair of the Committee, said the homebuilding industry is "simply not keeping up with demand" and has left the country "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," he said.

"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."

Evidence on the following submissions of evidence is being invited by the committee:

• 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

The deadline for written submissions is 12 September 2016.

For more information, visit here.

(LM)