The Housing Policy and Delivery Oversight Committee is being supported by Family Building Society, and its chief executive, Mark Bogard, is a member.
Other members include Neil Jefferson, CEO of the Home Builders Federation, Vicky Pryce, chief economic adviser at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, Ingrid Schroder, director of the Architectural Association School of Architecture, Professor Tony Travers, a director of the LSE London, Luke Murphy, Labour MP for Basingstoke, and Damian Green, chair of the Social Care Foundation.
The committee will also help the government in its aim to fix the housing crisis through constructive analysis and policy suggestions. It will also consider options such as making better use of existing buildings, rather than mainly focusing on delivering new homes.
Professor Christine Whitehead of the LSE and Kelvin McDonald, director of studies in land economy at Christ’s College, will provide academic insight and support.
The committee will meet roughly every six months, with its first meeting taking place in July. It will also commission papers on housing.
Aldermore Insights with Jon Cooper: Edition 9 – Why lending strategy is becoming more central in buy to let
Sponsored by Aldermore
Sir Cable said: “The government has – rightly – put housing at the heart of its growth and social policy agenda. Our committee will endeavour to give a fair and informed assessment of its progress.”
Bogard added: “Housing really matters to everyone, every night when they go to bed. But housing policy has been a shambles for at least 50 years. Judging how politicians, councillors and civil servants are doing, marking their homework, matters to people. It impacts how they perform. We have a statutory Climate Change Committee. We have an Office of Budget Responsibility. Housing matters just as much. So, we’ve set one up – hopefully, in time, fairly quickly, Parliament will set up a statutory one.
“Meanwhile, it is absolutely clear that the time has come for a coherent, long-term housing policy. Successive governments have systematically failed to deliver a strategy that works. Everyone knows it. This committee aims to help remedy this by monitoring [whether] the almost weekly announcements on housing are aligned and work for the benefit of all. Our committee will highlight the good, the bad and the ugly of government housing policy and its delivery. After so many years of undelivered promises and failures, our country deserves a housing policy that actually works.”
