MIPIM UK: Labour has announced it will publish the Lyons review tomorrow.
Speaking to EG at MIPIM UK, shadow housing minister Emma Reynolds said the review by Sir Michael Lyons would be published on Thursday and would be meaty and wide-ranging and introduce a common methodology for local authorities to assess need.
But she warned there was no single policy that could be introduced to solve the housing crisis.
The review is tasked with drawing up a road map that will set out changes to housing and planning policy.
Its publication was widely anticipated, but failed to materialise, during the Labour party conference in September.
Reynolds said: “At the moment the planning inspectorate is the stick. The Lyons review will address how not to get as far as the inspectorate, and how to meet the 200,000 homes we need. We need a more diverse competitive industry… I want small builders to have a bigger role.”
Only half the homes needed were being built, said Reynolds, with the problem even worse in London, where only a third of housing needed was being delivered.
She said housing would be an immediate priority, with the number of first-time buyers doubled and housing need met under a Labour government.
On mansion tax, which would see an annual charge on all properties valued over £2m, she said a system of deferred payment was being looked at for asset rich but cash poor individuals, but added that the proposals were not hindering the UK’s residential investment market.
Reynolds said she had sympathy with those calling for council tax reform but it was not a swift solution to the problem.
“This is about fairness and putting money into the NHS… I stand by my principle that we need a more aggresive property tax and we are talking about property over £2m which is a substantial asset,” she added.
Click below to listen to the full interview with Reynolds and hear her talk about why she refutes claims that the mansion tax will not work in London; why Labour has opted for this tax rather than council tax reform, and if the property industry needs an independent authority similar to the FSA to monitor it.
nadia.elghamry@estatesgazette.com
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