Government Review Warns Of 'Inexorable Decline' In Construction

The British construction industry faces “inexorable decline” unless radical action is taken to modernise it, a government review has found. The Farmer Review of the UK Construction Labour Model, commissioned jointly by the CLG and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, has published a damning verdict on the sector. Its most radical proposal for change was the introduction of a ‘levy’ on schemes, which charges additional tax of up to 0.5% of the scheme’s value if it does not support innovation or training. The report slammed the construction sector’s “dysfunctional training model, and its lack of innovation and collaboration, as well as its non-existent research and development culture”. Download the report from the CLG website.

Brandon Lewis On Prefabricated Housing: 'Key To The Sector's Future'

Brandon Lewis spoke to MPs at Westminster Hall regarding the issue of prefabricated housing, saying the government was “committed” to the idea. He said the Housing and Planning Bill, recently passed at its second reading, was part of the government’s plan to help prefabricated housing and innovative design. He said: “We are committed to encouraging not only home ownership, but increased housing supply, to make sure that we have more good-quality homes that people can afford to buy and that we support all parts of the housing market and all tenures. The way we do that is equally important. We need to deliver more new, high-quality homes, with well thought out interior design, built quickly and efficiently. We want to see innovation in the house building and construction sector.” Read more on 24dash.