The housing shortage

I recently wrote about the proposed doubling of council tax for second home owners. Several readers pointed out that the Scottish planning system was to blame for the shortage of homes, especially in rural areas.

The building industry agrees:

Homes for Scotland, which represents the house-building industry, said current housing needs were being ignored because local-authority planning departments were bound by old local plans. Last month, a report by the Scottish Executive found 40 per cent of local plans were more than a decade old.

How many private companies would survive if they were using ten-year-old plans?