In response to recent figures showing that 189,000 new homes were created in 2015/16, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has said that housebuilding is moving in the right direction, but more work needs to be done if the Government is to hit its target of one million new homes by 2020.
The Federation suggests that passing power over to local authorities and allowing them to borrow money to build homes could help tackle the housing crisis and economic uncertainty.
It has called on the Chancellor to use the Autumn Statement as an opportunity to offer alternative solutions to tackle the housing crisis going forward.
Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, commented: “We simply aren’t building enough new homes to meet current demand, which is why we’re calling for the Chancellor to empower local authorities to borrow money to build thousands of new social homes.
“The Government clearly recognises the extent of the housing crisis we face and has signalled its willingness to bring forward a wide-ranging package of measures to tackle this, many of which we expect to see in a forthcoming White Paper. Nevertheless, the gap between the number of homes we are building and the 250,000 a year figure widely accepted to be necessary in order to address the housing shortfall remains significant.
“Local authorities, who are well placed to identify local housing needs, can play a critical role in financing an increase in housing output in a safe and sensible way. We currently spend £1 on house building for roughly every £4 spent on housing benefit. Investing in a longer term solution would therefore make sense even in more certain economic conditions.”
