The Mineral Products
Association (MPA) has highlighted three practical steps that the Government
should take in order to ensure the supply chain can meet the material demands
for 300,000 new homes every year.
Identifying improved
policy clarity, better resourcing for the mineral planning system, and
supportive policy architecture after Brexit, the MPA believes that the
Government needs to give greater consideration to the long-term capacity and
ability of the supply chain to support the delivery of new homes.
The National
Federation of Builders (NFB) – whose membership consists of SME builders and
regional contractors – agrees with the MPA and encourages the Government to
take a holistic approach that recognises how the construction supply chain
operates in reality.
While the NFB
campaigns for improvements to the broken planning process, the availability and
price of materials also has a substantial impact on the ability of construction
companies to deliver.
Due to rising costs,
NFB members have already begun looking outside the EU for material suppliers.
What they are buying, and where, provides a good indicator as to how home-grown
markets can be developed. By focusing on production of materials that are not
available at competitive prices in the EU currently, the domestic market can
fully take advantage of the opportunity this presents.
The MPA has also
highlighted the value of the supply chain in rural communities and NFB members,
who are typically the clients of local material suppliers, wholeheartedly
support that message.
Richard Beresford,
chief executive of the NFB, said: “From planners and communities to
developers and material suppliers, we will never meet the target of 300,000
homes a year unless regulation and ambition support the capacity of a united
construction supply chain.
“The supply chain is
predominantly operated by SMEs, who train and retain two thirds of apprentices
and are our principal rural employer. It makes economic and social sense to
empower their growth.”
