<p>The ODPM has announced further details of a shared equity taskforce, which has been launched as part of the government’s plan to invest £970 million into shared equity schemes to help 35,000 people into home ownership. The taskforce, led by housing and planning minister Yvette Cooper and Treasury minister John Healey, will consider the long term potential of shared equity products and whether their scope can be widened. <br><br>John Slaughter of the HBF said: “This is an opportunity for private sector developers to indicate how they can deliver more in this area and to raise issues around meeting the needs of buyers. But the key is getting housing supply right.”<br><br>Barratt chief executive David Pretty will represent the housebuilding industry on the advisory panel which has been set up to assist the taskforce. He said: “The challenge for the government, the lenders and the industry is to come up with a method by which to roll this out in large enough numbers to make a real difference.”<br><br>The panel also includes: Peter Williams, deputy director general of the Council for Mortgage Lenders; Kate Davies, chief executive of the Notting Hill Housing Trust; Professor Steve Wilcox of the Centre for Housing Studies at …