12 COMMENT
to entry for SME builders is the long- running problem of the planning system, with 62% of FMB members reporting it as an issue. The FMB have long called for greater investment in local authority planning teams. This would help add the capacity and enable faster turnaround times of applications. Small builders are often faced with long wait times that delay sites and put a strain on the finances and resources. Beyond resourcing, planning teams need to communicate more effectively – which may be helped by digitising the process. In the same way we can track parcels, so we should be able to track planning applications. Not only would this alleviate uncertainty, but it makes the planning system more transparent.
AN INDUSTRY PLAGUED BY DELAYS Two issues at the top of the list as barriers for builders this year are a lack of materials and skilled labour. 62% were suffering from a lack of materials and 53% were struggling to find skilled labour. From our State of the Trade
WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK
Survey Q3 2021, we have seen 89% of builders delay work to accommodate for a shortfall in materials and skills. The number of builders facing delays is shocking, and will certainly hamper any effort to ‘build back better’. What is needed is a comprehensive strategy to ensure our hauliers once again have the capabilities to move goods en masse, and transparent allocation of materials policies to help small builders access what they need. Further exacerbating delays is the long running issue of skills shortages. It would be easy to see the exit of EU workers over the last few years and put two and two together. This does play a relatively significant role for some builders, who were reliant on EU labour. But also to blame is ‘decades of neglect’ to the UK’s training programmes for apprentices. The Government needs to put more resources into training the next generation of builders, to deliver our much-needed homes. The industry also has a vital role to play.We need to make sure that it’s an attractive and worthwhile career for
school leavers to take up by breaking down stereotypes and showing the value a career in construction can bring.
CAN GOVE SOLVE THE HOUSING CRISIS? To tackle these obstacles, I’m optimistic that we may see pragmatic solutions from the new Secretary of State, Michael Gove, at the newly named Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Gove has long been seen as a ‘big thinker,’ known to hoover up information to solve the larger problems the Government faces. I hope this level of strategic thinking will be quickly deployed to tackle the long-standing issue of a lack of housing. We’ve had a constructive relationship
with the Department and Ministers; the Housing Minister, Christopher Pincher, has been very accommodating to the FMB over the past year or so, and I hope to see this spirit of co-operation reflected by the new Secretary of State.
Brian Berry is chief executive officer of the Federation ofMaster Builders (FMB).
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
