Land

Mr. Pickles
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment has she made of the effect of landbanking by developers on the cost of housing.

Yvette Cooper
Landbanking and option contracts were considered within Kate Barker's Review of Housing Supply, commissioned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Deputy Prime Minister. Her interim report (December 2003) found little evidence, across the country as a whole, to substantiate concerns that these practices allow housebuilders to erect barriers to entry into the market; however, once land is acquired, competitive pressure and responsiveness in the industry are reduced and faster rates of production may be more socially beneficial.

In December 2006 the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced the Callcutt Review of Housebuilding Delivery. The Review will provide analysis of the acquisition, holding and disposal of land for housebuilding, the volumes of land held and the influence of land supply on levels of housebuilding production. This will include an assessment of the relationship between supply and  demand for housing and any observed market failures and the means by which they may be addressed. We expect the Review to report in the autumn.

Mr. Pickles
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information her Department collects on landbanking by developers.

Yvette Cooper
Communities and Local Government does not collect information on landbanking by developers.

The Callcutt Review of Housebuilding Delivery, announced by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in December 2006, will provide analysis of the acquisition, holding and disposal of land for housebuilding, the volumes of land held and the influence of land supply on levels of housebuilding production. This will include an assessment of the relationship between supply and demand for housing and any observed market failures and the means by which they may be addressed. We expect the Review to report in the autumn.