Select committee four point plan

The Communities and Local Government Select Committee has published a report examining the financing of new housing supply.

The report acknowledges that there is no single 'silver bullet' to solve the nation's housing crisis, but concentrating on four key areas could raise the finance to meet housing's shortfall.

The four areas are:

• large-scale investment from institutions and pension funds
• changes to the financing of housing associations, including a new role for the historic grant on their balance sheets
• greater financial freedoms for local authorities
• new and innovative models, including a massive expansion of self build housing

Using evidence from across the private and social housing sectors, the report examines the Government's housing strategy and considers measures to improve supply.

The report concludes with a number of recommendations including:

• housing associations should play a role in attracting institutional equity investment
• allow the creation of private, unlisted residential REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts)
• establish a pilot housing investment fund (a bank) run by housing associations
• consult housing associations on the treatment of the historic grant on their balance sheets
• lift the cap on local authorities' borrowing for housing, and allow councils to borrow in accordance with the Prudential Code
• the Government make additional resources available in the event that "like-for-like" right to buy replacement cannot be delivered
• incentivise local authorities to support pilot "volume self build" schemes by allocating sites and taking a flexible approach to planning

The Government is expected to respond to the report's recommendations in July.