The new Housing and Planning Minister, Alok Sharma MP, must focus on implementing the many strong proposals in the Government’s Housing White Paper, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has said in response to his appointment.
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “We welcome the appointment of Alok Sharma as the new Minister of State for Housing and Planning. He assumes the role at a critical juncture for the delivery of the Government’s ambitious target to build 1.5 million homes between 2015 and 2022. Vital to this will be ensuring that the recommendations within the 2017 Housing White Paper, that aim to diversify the supply of new homes and revitalise the SME house building sector, are delivered in full. The previous Housing Minister Gavin Barwell deserves credit for his work in pushing forward a wide range of reforms, including those designed to tackle some of the barriers to growth faced by smaller scale builders, and we hope that Sharma can build on this legacy.”
Berry concluded: “That the Conservative Party’s manifesto opened up the possibility of local authorities taking a more active role in house building suggests that the Government was still open to new and radical approaches to solving the housing crisis. It would be a shame if such radicalism was now dropped in light of a hung Parliament. We look forward to working closely with the new Minister, whose experience in the Treasury should hold him in excellent stead for the challenges ahead.”
Notes to editors
The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) is the largest trade association in the UK construction industry representing thousands of firms in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Established in 1941 to protect the interests of small and medium-sized (SME) construction firms, the FMB is independent and non-profit making, lobbying for members’ interests at both the national and local level.
The FMB is a source of knowledge, professional advice and support for its members, providing a range of modern and relevant business building services to help them succeed. The FMB is committed to raising quality in the construction industry and offers a free Find a Builder service to consumers.
