Housing and the Credit Crunch: Follow-up

HC 568, Eighth Report of Session 2008-09 - Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence

Author:

House of Commons - Communities and Local Government Committee

Publisher:

TSO (The Stationery Office)

Since the Committee's previous report on this subject (HC 101, ISBN 9780215526526), the 2009 Budget has made substantial provision for the housing industry. The Committee supports the measures the Government took in the Budget and those it has announced since as part of the Building Britain's Future package.

However, evidence suggests that the measures have not so far been enough to stimulate house building and housing market activity in the economic downturn. The previous steady progress towards achieving the targets has been dramatically reversed, though indications seem to be that the Government has done enough to arrest the fall-off in housebuilding, at least in the short term.

The report identifies two imperatives for Government action:

• (1) the Government must avoid storing up problems in the future by taking all steps possible to retain capacity in the housebuilding sector.

• (2) steps must be taken to ensure that housebuilders can sell the homes they build.

The flow of mortgage finance is crucial and it is evident that the Treasury Asset-backed Guarantee Scheme is not providing the necessary impetus.

Extent	47 pages	ISBN	9780215539960
Size	A4	Price	£12.00
Binding	Paperback	Published	14 Jul 2009
Availability	Colour copy: 3 - 5 days	Delivery	Delivery options and charges

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