To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the quantum of under-supply in housing caused by local authorities pursuing housing supply targets from (a) the Regional Spatial Strategies and (b) other housing targets introduced prior to 2010.
Answered on
11 January 2018
No specific assessment has been made of the impact of previous housing targets from the Regional Spatial Strategies regime or other targets introduced before 2010.
Since 2010, a range of reforms to streamline the planning system have been introduced. This has freed the system of red tape that has stifled it for too long and boosted the building of much-needed homes. This included removing top-down regional planning systems, and enabling communities to have a much greater say in the homes that are built in their area through Neighbourhood Planning. These initiatives are starting to see meaningful results, with 217,000 homes delivered last year and a record number of planning permissions granted.