FMB responds to NAO report on Government land sale claims

The National Audit Office’s report raises some minor queries around how we measure Government performance on releasing public land for housing, but this should not detract from the very significant achievement of the last Government in releasing land sufficient for around 100,000 new homes. Increasing the flow of land available for housing is a fundamental prerequisite for helping to tackle the long run under-supply of new homes in the UK.

However, it is vitally important how public land is released onto the market and whether this provides opportunities for a diverse range of providers, including SME house builders and custom builders. It is important that opportunities provided by smaller sites are not overlooked. Flexible contractual models like the ‘Build Now, Pay Later’ model must be used wherever possible – this can be particularly important for smaller firms for which cashflow tends to be a greater concern.

Where much larger sites are being disposed of, it is right to consider whether parts of these can be offered as small parcels to SME house builders and to those looking to provide serviced plots for custom builders. The Government is committed to implementing it’s Right to Build policy, which will require local authorities to ensure serviced plots are available to all those with a registered interest in building their own home. So, it is important that all public land disposals in future take account of required custom build provision.

There is the will to do all this. The Homes and Communities Agency is committed to improving opportunities for SMEs and custom builders through its disposals processes. But with the Government committed to releasing enough land for a further 150,000 new homes over the next five years it is important we get it right and make the very most of these opportunities.