Lords Committee invites evidence on ‘acute housing shortages’
July 2015

The new House of Lords Committee on National Policy for the Built Environment has today issued its call for written evidence.

Issues around housing and the built environment are a pressing concern in England, according to the Committee, with parts of the country facing acute housing shortages and an affordability crisis, while the legacy of poorly planned and designed developments can blight communities.

The Committee will seek to establish what steps can be taken to ensure better planning and design and whether we have the right balance between national policy and local accountability for planning decisions. It will also examine the pressing national need for appropriate homes for a changing population, bearing in mind that decisions taken today will have continuing effects in the years to come.

Committee Chairman Baroness O’Cathain said: "The supply of housing is a long-standing problem; delivery has neither kept up with public need nor politicians' targets. We need to look at new ways of tackling the obstacles that have prevented progress being made and we need an appropriate planning regime to ensure a balance between giving local residents a voice and meeting our urgent needs.

The committee has already heard evidence from a number of experts, as reported last week http://www.the-glazine.com/weeklyfolders/glazine21july2015/the_house_of_lords.htm

The most recent session can be viewed on http://www.parliamentlive.tv/event/index/7762ca2f-7750-4eb9-9687-e22178fd3cca

Deadline for written evidence is October 6.

Further details on http://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/built-environment/call-for-written-evidence-npbe.pdf