Following the landslide Labour victory at the recent General Election, PBM rounds up a number of responses from the industry – to the result and early speeches from both new PM Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves – on the potential impact for the building materials and wider construction sector:
The proposals from Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves MP to deliver much needed housing and planning reforms are welcome news but there is a serious question about how these initiatives will be delivered given the current skills crisis in the building industry, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “There are many positives to take from the new Chancellor’s announcement for the nation’s local house builders. The restoration of mandatory local housebuilding targets will be crucial to meeting Labour’s ambition to build 1.5 million more homes, and it is essential that SME builders are included in this process, so that market diversity in can be restored. More information on Labour’s much-trailed ‘Grey Belt’ proposals are also welcome as land to develop upon is in short supply.
“However, the UK is currently experiencing a construction skills crisis, and there are serious questions to be asked about how deliverable any of this is, without a long-term training and skills plan to ensure the workforce is in place.”
Brian concluded: “The Chancellor’s confirmation that a new draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will be published before August, including enhanced presumptions in the planning system in favour of sustainable development is a positive step forward and one that should help local house builders. To pull this off will require government departments working in tandem to ensure we have the skilled workers available to deliver these plans.
“The Government now needs to address how the skills shortage will be tacked.”
National Federation of Builders
Chief Executive Richard Beresford said: “The NFB has been at the forefront of lobbying for planning reform, so it is exciting to have a government that understands why reforming it will deliver and sustain employment, housing, transport, regional and national strategy, and investor confidence. Tax cuts enable growth because they free up funding, but if money cannot be invested due to anti-growth agendas, it gets wasted on bureaucracy, held back or goes abroad. It is fantastic to have a Chancellor who understands this reality.
“Labour have had a consistent message on planning reform throughout their campaign and it bodes well for the country that they appear to be sticking to their promises – something sorely missing over these last five years. The NFB Manifesto, ‘Supporting Construction to Power Growth,’ contains many planning reform recommendations and we look forward to having a chance to explain them to the new government.”
The NFB also stated that the announced NPPF review is a necessary first step in implementing Labour’s promise to reintroduce housing targets and ensure the ambition of the ‘grey belt’ is realised. The new Government has already announced the removal of footnotes in the NPPF that hinder onshore wind development.
Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy and Market Insight, added: “Labour is correct to review the NPPF because the most recent review removed housing ambition, took powers away from councils to allocate land, increased the discretionary planning process by introducing vague language, and where sensible approaches were introduced, such as National Development Management Policies, powers were taken away to enable them in practice.
“Without planning reform, growth is either temporary or in sectors without substantial knock-on investment, such as the services sector. This needs to change and we should look at Birmingham as an example of how to do it well.
“The second city’s automotive industry didn’t just need premises to build cars but also facilities to manufacture components. This, alongside tens of thousands of industry-specific jobs, was enabled across the entire Midlands region and supported by a nationally accessible transport network, once again made possible by decisive, strategic planning. In turn, this fuelled investment in ancillary businesses, such as aftermarket care and nationally spread garages.
“With new technologies coming thick and fast and green industries growing exponentially, the UK cannot afford to delay enablement. Labour’s immediate decision to unlock onshore wind projects should give the nation hope that ‘national renewal’ and ‘growth’ are not just slogans.”
Managing Director Allan Wright said: “Labour’s win makes it imperative that they now act quickly to deliver on their campaign promises. A pledge to deliver 1.5m new homes over the next parliament is absolutely to be applauded but will only mean anything once it comes to fruition. Having built long-term partnerships with both our housebuilding clients and our supply chain we very much look forward to playing our part in the delivery of these new homes to the nation over the course of the next five years.”
“Away from housebuilding, Labour’s pledge to develop a 10-year infrastructure strategy to guide investment plans and provide the private sector with certainty around project pipelines is long overdue as a national concept and should again be welcomed, but let’s keep the champagne on ice until we see significant progress in bringing both the concept and more importantly the much-needed projects forward.”
Mark Dyer, Deputy Managing Director, commented: “We are looking forward to working with the new government to deliver a greener future for the nation. Labour’s commitment to support the deployment of low carbon heating through the ‘Warm Homes Plan’ is very welcome and it will help hundreds of thousands of households install air source heat pumps. We would urge the government to consult on the plan at the earliest opportunity.”
Federation of Small Businesses
Policy Chair Tina McKenzie commented: “It’s good to hear the new Government setting a target of 1.5 million homes in the next five years and it will not be possible to reach these numbers without the contribution of small construction firms. Small housebuilders are the key to achieving ambitious housebuilding targets.
“It’s integral that a Small Housebuilders Strategy is created to put small businesses front and centre of decision-making, so the builders who have had the hardest time in recent decades can deliver the outcomes the new Government seeks.
“We hope this will be the start of a renewed focus on getting Britain building again, and that the new Chancellor Rachel Reeves will follow up with further much-needed reform such as to the Community Infrastructure Levy, so it’s no longer an upfront charge.
“It’s good to see a clear statement from the new Government that it will focus on the growth that our economy needs.”
Shaun Hurworth, Marketing Director, said: “We are encouraged by Labour’s pledges to invest in renewable energy infrastructure and incentives for businesses and households to adopt net zero technologies. Dimplex has a long-standing dedication to innovation in this area, and our advanced heat pump systems, storage heaters and smart home solutions have a major role to play in enabling the energy transition whilst reducing energy consumption and costs to consumers.
“However, the industry needs clarity and consistency in policy to help maximise the benefits. In particular, Dimplex would call on the new government to implement their Warm Homes Plan and create demand for clean heating, close the spark gap and make the lowest carbon energy the cheapest energy, and recognise thermal storage as an energy-saving material for reduced VAT.
“We are optimistic that these initiatives will driving forward-thinking solutions and maintain the UK’s position as a leader in green technology.”
Martin Lambley, Global Product Manager for Urban Climate Resilience, commented: “Clarity on water needs to be a top priority in planning reform if the new government wants to repair the UK’s broken relationship with our most precious resource.
“In her first speech as Chancellor, Rachel Reeves promised to overhaul planning restrictions as the new government set about getting Britain building again. The industry will welcome this ambition, but everyone needs clarity on water regulations if we want our new developments to be resistant to the extreme weather that we’re likely to see more of in coming years.
“Water regulations that affect the planning process have been dripping through over the past decade, as the Flood and Water Management Act is slowly implemented in inconsistent chunks. We need this legislation, but the lack of clarity on when and how it needs to be executed means that its positive impact is being severely limited.
“We’ll only get the best from technologies such as Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) if developers are clear on their responsibilities well in advance – having to comply halfway through a project or a design always leads to an imperfect solution.
“The new government has introduced ambitious new housebuilding targets. This is a significant opportunity to repair our relationship with water, and start using it as a resource, rather than funnelling it out of town as fast as possible. Ultimately, planning reforms announced by the new Chancellor need to tackle the growing water challenge made more drastic by the changing climate.”
Please click here for the full story on the Builders Merchants Federation’s response to the General Election result.
