Housing minister Grant Shapps has announced that the government will not push ahead with the Local Standards Framework in an attempt to reduce red tape and regulation on the industry. <br> <br> Speaking at the HBF’s annual lunch on May 10, the minister said that going ahead with the framework would be “the worst of all worlds” and that getting housebuilding underway was essential to increase the economic pace of the country. <br> <br> “There are fears that devolving control to local authorities may actually increase regulation. So I can tell you now that I don’t propose pushing forward with the Local Standards Framework,” Shapps stated. <br> <br> Instead, industry, local authorities and government should work together to find the right solutions, he proposed. <br> <br> He said: “Today is the day when the government piling on the regulations are over. I know that the cumulative impact of bureaucracy, regulations and red-tape simply erodes viability.”<br> <br>