Reports that there is a significant risk that that major government targets for housebuilding and regeneration will be missed because the system is unable to manage the volume or variety of tasks required between now and 2020. Wider economic well-being and delivery of the Government's environmental priorities could also be hindered. Two linked problems need to be addressed urgently to prevent this: a drastic shortage of planning officers and a significant and growing skills gap among those planners who remain within the system. The shortage of planners looks unlikely to be resolved in the short-medium term. Argues that government needs to raise the general status of planning within local government structures and to provide means by which planners can widen and improve their skills to obtain the greatest benefit from developments for the areas they serve. States that efforts to raise the number of students taking planning-related university courses have been more successful, but will take time to bring able and experienced planning officers into the system.