The National House Building Council (NHBC) has said the current rate of home building will need to more than double to deliver the Government’s promise of 1.5m homes constructed over the next five years.
The number of new homes registered to be built in the UK fell by 23 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2023, according to figures from the NHBC.
Labour’s pledge to build 1.5m homes has been a cornerstone of its economic growth policy. The number of new homes registered to be built in the UK fell by 23 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2023
Speaking from the House of Lords last week, King Charles said: “My ministers will get Britain building, including through planning reform, as they seek to accelerate the delivery of high quality infrastructure and housing [Planning and Infrastructure Bill].
In theory, 300,000 homes will be built each year, partly by reallocating so-called grey belt, or low quality green belt, land.
On a positive note, new home registrations and completions are up 34 per cent and 29 per cent quarter on quarter, respectively.
There is a “mountain to climb” with regards to home building, chief executive of NHBC Steve Wood said.
“Scaling up will take time but we can be encouraged by the Government’s announcements on new home-buyer incentives, changes to the planning system and investment in infrastructure, including power grids, water supply and roads,” he added.
A national skills gap
Wood also called on the Government to close the national skills gap.
An estimated 20 per cent of the UK workforce will be “significantly underskilled” for their jobs by 2030, according to Oxford Learning College. This could amount to around 6.5m people.
Source: NHBC (Appendix table 1) – quarter on quarter comparison
“With an ageing workforce, a lack of skilled workers could seriously slow down Labour’s plans,” Wood said.
Skills shortages affect a number of areas in house building, including construction, design, planning and green skills.
Shortages in housebuilding sector are “particularly severe” according to a 2022 government report.
Last week, chief executive of the Construction Industry Training Board Tim Balcon warned that the UK faced a shortfall of around 150,000 skilled workers in construction.
The Government have pledged to create a new body, Skills England, to improve training and to reform the apprenticeship levy paid by employers.