Housing minister Grant Shapps used the forum of the Housing Market Intelligence conference to announce a pledge to the housebuilding industry to reduce the burden of regulation. <br> <br> Shapps told the conference that the government is on the side of housebuilders “large and small”. “I am determined,” said Shapps, “to make it easier to build the homes this country needs.”<br> <br> The minister defended the controversial localism policy and government’s move to scrap housing targets. <br> <br> “It makes a good headline to say that the abolition of targets has meant X fewer homes being built,” he said. “But it’s a lazy headline because the numbers just don’t stack up. It’s a false comparison – the targeted number of homes was simply never going to be built.”<br> <br> On regulations, Shapps said the government was serious about reducing the burden on housebuilders. “We have already launched a review of Building Regulations and we also promise to keep planning requirements to a minimum. I will make sure any regulation must be cost effective and proportionate – driving down unnecessary expense. You will have heard this before, but the difference is that we really mean it.” <br> <br> HBF chairman Stewart …