A new Commission brings together senior figures from housebuilding, planning, law, economics and journalism
The Commission will identify the practical reforms needed to improve affordability
Prosper UK today announced a major new Commission into the housing crisis, arguing that unaffordable housing is one of the most pressing problems holding back economic growth.
For younger working people in particular, housing is one of the issues Prosper UK hears about most often. Too many feel that however hard they work, home ownership or even secure renting is moving further out of reach.
Led by former Downing Street Chief of Staff and Minister of State for Housing and Planning Gavin Barwell, the Commission will examine why housing has become less affordable, less available and less secure for too many people across the UK and what to do to turn that around.
It will focus on the practical reforms needed to make housing more affordable, including planning, land, viability, market competition, skills and construction capacity. It will publish its findings this summer.
Initial members of the review include:
- David Gauke – Prosper UK
- András Kárpáti – CEO, Cordia UK
- Tim Collins – Group Corporate Affairs Director, Barratt Redrow
- Lucian Cook – Head of Residential Research and Head Office London, Savills
- Richard Cook – Chief Development Officer, Clarion Housing Group
- Trevor Ivory – Partner, DLA Piper
- James Knight – Partner, Arcadis
- Jackie Sadek, Urban Strategy
- Emma Duncan, The Times
- Economist Tim Leunig
- Former Housing Minister Mark Prisk
Housing supply remains well below what is needed to meet the Government’s ambition of 1.5 million homes over this Parliament. England added just 208,600 net additional homes in 2024-25. The pipeline is also weakening, with planning permission granted for only 209,781 homes in the year to September 2025, the lowest 12-month total since 2013, according to Government reports.
Prosper UK Board Member Gavin Barwell said:
“Housing lies at the heart of so many of the problems this country faces. If we want to get the economy growing, we need to get the housing market moving. If we want to tackle intergenerational fairness, we need to make it more affordable to get on the housing ladder. If we want to tackle high unemployment, we need to give people confidence that they can move to a different part of the country and easily find somewhere to live. And, if want to ease the financial pressure on local government, we need to do something about the huge cost of temporary accommodation. We’ve assembled an amazing commission team with decades of experience in this sector, who will come up with practical policies to fix our broken housing market”.
Prosper UK Vice Chair David Gauke said:
“For Prosper UK, housing goes to the heart of a wider argument: the UK needs serious, practical reform to restore growth, widen opportunity and make the country work better again for people who want to get on. The housing debate has too often been short on delivery. We want this review to be practical, evidence-based and focused on the reforms that would make the greatest difference, with workable proposals that can increase supply, support growth and help the country prosper.”
Clarion Housing Group Chief Development Officer Richard Cook said:
“I’m delighted to support this commission. With the housing crisis continuing to affect the prosperity of the majority of the country, some new and bold ideas are going to be required to significantly turn the dial.”
Cordia UK CEO András Kárpáti said:
“We continue to firmly believe in the strong fundamentals of the UK housing market but equally acknowledge the many challenges – systemic and externally caused – faced by all industry actors on the supply side and, of course, the affordability issues affecting buyers and renters on the demand side. As an active investor and developer in both the Build to Rent and affordable housing sectors, Cordia UK welcomes the establishment of this housing inquiry with the aim of finding much needed answers and solutions that would enable faster, more predictable, better quality and more affordable housing solutions in the UK.”