Title page
Contents
Summary 4
1. Background: Housing need and supply 7
1.1. What is government's national housing target? 7
1.2. Why are new homes needed? 8
1.3. Where are new homes needed? 9
1.4. Is housing supply meeting housing need? 10
2. How is local housing need calculated and met? 11
2.1. Calculating local housing need: The standard method 12
2.2. The outcome of the standard method: A starting point, not a target? 15
2.3. Identifying sites to meet local housing need: The housing land supply 17
2.4. How is housing delivery enforced? 17
3. The government's recent and proposed changes to NPPF 20
3.1. Recent updates to the NPPF (December 2023) 21
3.2. Proposed changes not taken forward 22
3.3. Reaction to the recent updates 23
3.4. Further proposed changes (February 2024) 26
3.5. Reaction to the proposed changes 27
3.6. Past proposals for reform 28
4. Calls for further reforms 30
4.1. Calls to reform the standard method 30
4.2. Calls to replace the standard method 35
Table 1. Updates to the NPPF 21