The paper, by Mark Stephens, who wrote the Taskforce’s final report, and Peter Williams, a member of the Taskforce, reviews policy developments – such as the national housing strategy and new national planning framework – outlines what has been achieved and what remains to be done, and highlights priorities for the Government. 

The recommendations include:

• conducting a revaluation of property for Council Tax purposes with a view to gradually transforming it into a national land and property value tax;
• ensuring the Financial Policy Committee has the power to introduce mortgage credit controls, and that the housing market as a whole is monitored as a threat to wider economic stability;
• monitoring the FSA’s new mortgage rules to ensure they do not unnecessarily exclude low-risk borrowers from the housing market;
• introducing a more effective safety net for home-owners that shares responsibility fairly between home-owners, lenders and government;
• switching the emphasis of housing subsidies away from a reliance on Housing Benefit towards housing supply, as part of a new model for financing new affordable housing.