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Government’s 300,000-home target risks being missed unless it embraces MMC, MPs warn
The government risks missing its 300,000-home target if it continues to rely on traditional building methods and fails to embrace modern methods of construction (MMC), a parliamentary committee has warned.
The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee said ministers needed to act quickly to increase capacity and improve investor confidence in the sector if it is to have a meaningful impact on annual UK housebuilding targets.
Modern methods of construction, such as using new materials, precision manufacturing processes and digital working, have the potential to speed up the building process and lower costs. But, at present, the use of these methods is limited due to confusing regulation and high upfront costs.
The committee said the government needs to increase capacity in the supply chain and ensure that the workforce is appropriately skilled, working with Homes England and training centres to develop skills programmes.
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It also said that data collection needed to be improved in order to demonstrate the long-term viability of the methods to both investors and consumers. The Ministry of Housing, Community and Local Government should also track the amount of money given to housing projects which make use of MMC, it said.
The report highlighted that social housing is particularly well-suited to MMC because it often includes large numbers of similar homes, helping to lower costs and providing certainty of demand.
Clive Betts, chair of the HCLG committee, said: “[The government] must make a serious effort to support the use of new and emerging technologies that have the potential to have a transformative impact on the speed, cost and quality of homebuilding.
“This is not simply about shifting production away from the building site and into factories. It is about seizing opportunities that modern technologies allow, whether it be precision manufacturing, use of new materials or digital working.”
He admitted that reluctance from investors and potential buyers was “understandable”, adding that the government could do more to promote the sector.
“The housing system is in urgent need of a major boost and if the government is to have any chance of meeting its ambitious target it must grasp every opportunity new technologies allow. But it must act fast and act now,” Mr Betts added.
