MHCLG Confirms £1bn In Finance To Back SME Builders

Millions of pounds in new loans will be paid out to back SME builders. The £1bn guarantee scheme set-up by the Government ensures enough credit is available to allow smaller housebuilders to enter the market – able secure loans from participating banks. In an announcement to Parliament, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick confirmed the British Business Bank’s ENABLE Build Programme will shortly begin guaranteeing millions in new loans for local, independent construction businesses to deliver new homes. Read the statement on the Parliament website.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-01-29/HCWS74/

Delivering More Homes Through Small Sites

New research produced by the FMB and the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) has revealed some of the barriers to developing small sites and makes a set of practical recommendations on how local authorities and SME builders can work together to overcome these. Among findings, the surveys found that:

·         87% of local authorities said that they did not think the Government would reach its housing targets with current resourcing levels.

·         79% of SME builders think the planning application for small sites is ‘too heavy-handed’

·         55% of local authorities said that the quality of planning applications for small sites is often poor

·         80% of SME builders said that local authorities in their area do not proactively communicate or engage with them

Download the report from the FMB website.

Construction-Sector Recovery at Risk from Skills Shortage

A shortage of bricklayers, carpenters and site managers threatens to derail the construction sector’s recovery, an industry group has warned after fresh evidence of recruitment struggles at building companies. The Federation of Master Builders said its latest poll of small and medium-sized (SME) construction firms found employment picked up for the sixth quarter running and the growth was expected to continue over the coming three months. But about half of the 400 or so companies surveyed said they were struggling to recruit bricklayers. Brian Berry, the chief executive, said a skills shortage continued “to loom large over our industry. Almost half of construction SMEs are struggling to recruit adequate numbers of bricklayers, with others finding it increasingly hard to hire carpenters and joiners, site managers and supervisors.” Read more on the Guardian website.

Labour Will Not Lift Cap on Council Borrowing For Housebuilding

Ed Balls has toughened Labour's fiscal position by pledging not to fund any new policy pledges through extra borrowing. But what about allowing councils to borrow more for housebuilding? The idea was being explored as part of the Lyons Review, which is examining how Labour can meet its pledge to build 200,000 homes a year by 2020. There are good reasons for doing so. The CIH estimates that raising the cap by £7bn could enable the construction of 60,000 homes over the next five years. Despite this Labour will not pledge to lift the cap. A spokesman for Ed Balls said: "We want to prioritise housing, but we also want to be fiscally responsible." He suggested that the 200,000 target could be met through other sources such as self-builders and SMEs. Read more on the New Statesman website.