<p>CLG’s Planning matters report concluded that the long term inadequacies of the planning system threatened housing and regeneration targets. In the report, the committee stated that too few planners worked in the industry and many lacked the necessary skills to do their jobs effectively. The committee claimed that despite these problems being known over the last decade, little had been done to address them. The committee called for the general status of planning to be raised within local government, allowing the chief planning officer to become a statutorily protected senior local government official. <br><br>It also recommended that the government plough in more resources to entice new people into the planning profession, and provide more funding to improve existing planners’ skills. The report was largely welcomed by the industry. John Slaughter, HBF’s head of external affairs, commented that properly skilled planners were essential for housing delivery and the development of sustainable communities: “It is becoming a more demanding world for all of us, but we have got to take the opportunity now to invest in the planning skills base for when the housing market recovers.” But the British Property Federation (BPF) urged for immediate action, stating that reports needed to be …