Beckett calls for house builders to keep building

20 November 2008

At the annual lunch of National House Building Council yesterday in London the ministry highlighted the need for the housebuilding industry to preserve skilled jobs as redundancies threatened to create a “missing generation” for the sector which would set back sustainability policy and quotas.

Nick Raynsford, MP for Greenwich and Woolwich delivered the speech on Mrs Beckett’s behalf.

He says: “It is absolutely essential that we learn the lessons of the past. In previous economic downturns, housebuilders and developers have been hit quickly and sharply but recovery has been slow and difficult.

“This time the ministry wants to work with the industry to maintain capacity so that it is ready and able to respond when the upturn comes. In particular we need to work together on investment, training and skills to attract and retain talented people.”

Raynsford also praised NHBC and housebuilders for their commitment to quality control after the positive findings of October’s OFT report examining customer satisfaction levels with new build homes.

He also made reference to the pressure of the 2016 timeframe for zero-carbon homes in the face of an economy in freefall.

Imtiaz Farookhi , chief executive of the NHBC, adds: “Over the next few months we will be working with construction skills and others to put together practical proposals which recognise the absolute importance of protecting the skills base in the UK.

“Even if there was a magic bullet to cure the financial markets tomorrow and restore confidence, the capacity of the industry to ratchet up production and work to meet the government’s supply target and other policies will have been affected by the reduction in capacity within the industry.

“Housing supply and housing demand will still be around in five years time and 10 years time and we had better plan ahead as well as deal with today’s challenges.”

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