COMMENT 13
homes will be reversing the decline in the small to medium-sized (SME) housebuild- ing sector. We can’t rely on the major housebuilders to do this alone. In the 1980s, small housebuilders brought forward four in 10 new homes, whereas today that figure stands at just over one in 10. The biggest barrier facing SME housebuilders is available and viable land. There has been progress in this area, with changes to small site allocation in the National Planning Policy Framework, and indeed we have seen this barrier fall slightly in our annual housebuilder’s survey, but there is still much more than can be done.
Government can take a lead by releas- ing public land, broken up into small plots, for housebuilding. The Government should heed the warnings of the Public Accounts Committee, that it has “failed to use its position as a major land owner,” and risks therefore failing to reach its target of selling enough land for 160,000 homes until after 2025. This is not good enough and should be looked at urgently by the new Government.
HELP SECURE THE FUTURE SKILLS BASE One of the uncertainties that the business community will look to the new
Government to resolve, is what the UK’s future immigration system will look like. With one in 10 construction workers hailing from the EU, the industry must not face a ‘cliff edge’ when it comes to skilled labour if we are to deliver the new homes our country needs. The UK needs a fair and balanced immigration system that responds to the needs of business as opposed to being based on arbitrary skill or salary thresh- olds. The industry also needs to reflect and consider how to encourage the next generation to choose a career in our sector over others. The FMB will continue to promote vocational education, and lobby for investment in Further Education colleges as part of this agenda. I have been clear in my concerns about
the UK Apprenticeship Levy since day one, and the policy in England needs greater reform. We must reverse the decline in apprenticeships in construction, planning and the built environment, or else it is hard to see how we are going to find enough people to build the homes we need.
WORKING TOGETHER TO DELIVER A POSITIVE HOUSING LEGACY This Government has an opportunity to leave a long-lasting legacy by helping to
solve the housing crisis. However, this will not happen without housing being a polit- ical priority, and the setting of ambitious targets and radical policy changes. SMEs have a major part in achieving this, and Government must work with our sector to find positive solutions to breaking down barriers, and increasing capacity.
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