New Housing Secretary must focus on quality when delivering 300,000 new homes, says NFRC

In the Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s reshuffle of his cabinet yesterday [15 September], he replaced Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick with Michael Gove, appointing him as the new State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and tasking him with the government’s levelling-up agenda.

Commenting on the announcement, James Talman, chief executive of the National Federation for Roofing Contractors (NFRC), said: “The new Secretary of State must ensure that the government’s target to build 300,000 homes a year is not achieved at the expense of quality. With the construction industry currently facing unprecedented material and labour shortages, there is a danger that a blind focus on numbers could lead to unintended consequences.

“Instead, the Secretary of State should work with the construction supply chain to guarantee that those building our homes are competent enough to do so and ensure that these homes are being built to a safe standard and have high levels of energy efficiency.

He concluded: “The Secretary of State has previously pledged his support to the RoofCERT programme to recognise competency in roofing, and we trust that this acknowledgement will be reinforced in his new position. We stand ready to work with the Secretary of State.”