Nigel Cates, Chief Ombudsman, New Homes Ombudsman Service

• Examine the Government’s housing ambitions and the reforms designed to accelerate the delivery of new homes
• Explore the barriers to increasing housing supply, from planning and local delivery to capacity, skills and construction quality
• Consider how we ensure that increasing the quantity of new homes goes hand-in-hand with quality, consumer confidence and effective redress when things go wrong

Understand the practical challenges and opportunities of delivering major housing development and regeneration at a local authority level, with insight from Stockport Council’s experience.

• Explore the current challenges facing affordable and social housing delivery
• Examine how planning reform can support a step-change in housing supply
• Consider the role of councils and combined authorities in delivering more affordable and social housing
• Discuss what the future of housing supply should look like, and the policy, funding and planning changes needed to deliver homes that are affordable and sustainable

• Understand the key barriers to scaling affordable housing delivery, including planning, land availability, viability and funding

• Explore how partnerships between housing associations, local authorities, Homes England and developers can unlock housing delivery

• Identify practical strategies to accelerate development pipelines and turn housing ambitions into deliverable projects

• Examine how placemaking, design quality and community needs can be embedded into housing development to create places where people want to live
• Understand how environmental, social and governance considerations can support more sustainable, resilient and future-ready homes and communities
• Explore how housing providers, developers and investors can balance the pressure to increase supply with long-term value, quality and positive outcomes for residents

• Understand how housing quality, security and the wider living environment influence residents’ physical health, mental wellbeing and life chances
• Explore how housing providers, local authorities and health services can work together to address complex social challenges and improve outcomes for residents
• Identify opportunities to use social value evidence, data and community investment to demonstrate impact and direct resources towards interventions that make a meaningful difference

• Understand how spatial development strategies can support regional growth and inform local planning priorities
• Explore approaches to unlocking stalled housing sites, attracting investment and working with Homes England to accelerate housing delivery
• Identify the planning skills, resources and cross-organisational partnerships needed to build local capacity and deliver housing ambitions

Alex Notay, Chief Executive, Housing Forum

Ryan Shepherd, Head of Planning, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority

With ambitious housing targets and planning reforms underway, what will it take to translate policy ambition into sustained, measurable progress? This panel will examine the priorities for accelerating housing delivery over the coming years. Panellists will discuss how progress should be measured, where greater accountability is needed, how the sector can increase delivery capacity and what practical changes would make the greatest difference. The discussion will conclude by identifying the actions government, housing providers and industry must take collectively to turn current ambitions into lasting results for communities.