Select committee: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 23
3rd Report - Delivering 1.5 million new homes: Land Value Capture
Published 28 Oct 2025
Addressed to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee Delivering 1.5 million new homes: Land Value Capture All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We welcome that the Government has stated its preference for New Towns to be delivered through development corporations with powers of land assembly, under a similar model to the 20th century new towns. However, the Government has not yet announced any new direct funding for the New Towns programme, and has so far indicated that it will rely primarily on private financing from institutional investors. If the Government is to realise the full potential of the development corporation model, it must ensure they have access to their own capital funding to build infrastructure to unlock housing development. Whilst we welcome the Taskforce’s recommendation for a minimum target of 40% affordable housing of which at least half should be for Social Rent, this must not restrict development corporations 66 from using land value capture mechanisms to negotiate a greater contribution of Social Rent homes on sites where this is financially viable. (Conclusion, Paragraph 114)
From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, 3rd Report - Delivering 1.5 million new homes: Land Value Capture (HC 672), 28 October 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 20 March 2026 (deadline 28 December 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Committee's inquiry and says it "recognises there is more to do" on developer contributions, accepting some recommendations, noting or not pursuing others, and pointing to its NPPF consultation and wider reforms.
- On Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) coverage, the government "has agreed to the Committee's recommendation and commits to publishing a map of CIL coverage in England", but intends to do so without accompanying information on rates.
- On funded Level 7 planning apprenticeships, the government "notes" the recommendation and considers that funding apprenticeship routes alone "does not guarantee" learners will work in or remain in local planning authorities. It points instead to its Planning Capacity and Capability Programme.
- On planning fees, it does "not consider it appropriate to fund local plan-making through planning application fees". On a statutory Section 106 dispute resolution scheme, it does not intend to implement the 2016 Act provisions "at this time" but "will keep this under review".
- On land value estimates, the government is developing updated estimates and says "the aim is to publish updated values for a range of land uses this year".