King’s Speech, Get Britain Building

In the King’s speech, King Charles reinforced the government’s plans for a Planning and Infrastructure Bill to get Britain building through planning reform and accelerate the delivery of high-quality infrastructure and housing. The King also outlined Labour’s focus on sustainable growth by encouraging investment in industry, skills and new technologies.

Kelly Boorman, national head of construction at RSM UK, said: ‘The government has made its commitment to restimulating the housing market clear by reintroducing mandatory housing targets, planning reform and investing in infrastructure to deliver on 1.5m homes in the next five years. We’re already seeing this in action with the new housing task force to tackle stalled housing schemes. Further investment in industry, skills and new technologies to ensure sustainable and long-term growth is also encouraging for the construction industry, especially given workforce shortages and productivity issues. We’re going to see a major shift in the labour profiling and skills required in construction over the next two decades, so government’s investment in new technologies will ensure there are more opportunities for people with different skillsets.’

She added: ‘However the housing sector still has a number of unanswered questions. While there’s a drive for building and planning reform for economic growth, there remains concerns about the lack of detail about the provision of affordable and social housing. Government has pledged to “get Britain building”, but there is no indication as to how housing delivery and first-time buyer incentives will encourage more households to flip from rental to owners. Although government will strengthen tenants’ rights to challenge rent increases and landlord discrimination, further clarity is needed on how government will incentivise first-time buyers trapped in the rental market, as well as addressing social housing shortages and making housing more affordable.’

Source: RSM