<p>Lord Bob Kerslake has criticised “a lack of critical detail” on key aspects of the Housing and Planning Bill which have “severely hampered” the examination of the legislation by the House of Lords.</p> <p>Speaking at the Home Builders Federation’s Policy Conference in London on Maerch 22, Lord Kerslake, now chair of Peabody and formerly head of the civil service, said: “We don’t know how critical parts (of the legislation) will work in practice.” He said the Starter Homes initiative had evolved into being the main option for Affordable Housing without anyone knowing how it would work and that he would have had a pilot scheme first.</p> <p>He suggested two changes to the Starter Homes initiative. First that there should be a 20 year taper on the discount - instead of it running out after five years - because it is “too rich an offer and could distort the market – especially if added to Help to Buy.”</p> <p>And second he said that local authorities should have more discretion on the number of Starter Homes in a scheme rather than being decided centrally. “At the moment the local authority is not able to regulate the right mix for local needs – …