Industry needs commitment from Government to build more homes, says FMB

The fall in construction activity acerbated by the drop in housing activity signals the need for the Government to give a clear commitment to building new homes, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in response to the latest data from S&P Global / CIPS UK Construction PMI.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB said: “Small, local housebuilders are struggling in a market that has seen the fastest decline in residential construction since May 2020, which was when the country was gripped by the Covid pandemic.

“At a time when we need to be building more homes we are moving in the opposite direction and building fewer. There is a whole generation of people who can’t get on the housing ladder, which is holding back growth and investment.

“While it might be politically easy to shelve housing commitments to gain votes in some areas, the Government must recommit to their annual housing target of 300,000 homes.

“I’m concerned that the Government lacks a clear plan to solve the housing crisis, resulting in overcrowding and increasingly unaffordable rents as more cling on to rental properties as the new housing market shrinks.

“While there are long term issues to solve with the planning system, the Government needs to take the bull by the horns and restate its ambition to build new homes.”