CIOB welcomes new Housing Bill but warns of skills gap
In response to the newly published Housing Bill, the Charted Institute of Building warnsthe UK will notachieve the desired quality or quantity of housing without curtailing the skills gap.
The Prime Minister’s statement on Monday ahead of the launch of the Housing and Planning Bill reinforced the commitment to build one million homes by 2020 – announcing the expectation of all councils to create and deliver local plans to fulfil the ambition by 2020.
The CIOB agrees that the Government has a significant role to play in terms of helping overcome the current issue of housing supply.
We welcome the intention to build one million homes by 2020, but emphasise that new homes must not fall short on build quality. It is essential that there is an added focus on ensuring quality in the built environment if it is to meet the needs of communities both now and in the future.
Importantly, we do not believe that we will achieve the desired quality or quantity without curtailing the skills gap that currently exists across the sector. The Housing Bill presents a huge opportunity for the industry to ensure there is a steady flow of skilled recruits available to meet the housing challenge, from apprenticeship level through to senior management. We recommend that investment in housing developments be tied to training and job creation, and we urge the industry to consider innovative methods of construction where appropriate to improve quality and increase housing supply.
