Several UK construction leaders gathered at the Labour Conference yesterday to discuss the skills gap, productivity issues, and the 1.5m new homes target
The Big Construction Debate discussed several major issues plaguing the construction industry, and how to address them or boost them.
The debate was carried out over several sessions, with two major sessions addressing the skills shortage and low delivery rates of housing.
High-level speakers discussed the issues
Speakers at the conference included:
- Chris McDonald MP, member of parliament for Stockton North & minister for industry in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT)
- Tan Dhesi MP, member of parliament for Slough
- Councillor Graham Morgan, leader of Knowsley Council
- Mike Reader MP, member of Parliament for Northampton South
- Jim Dickson MP, member of parliament for Dartford.
In the debate, five key policy asks were made of the government:
- Improve Pipeline Visibility – support industry-wide workload forecasting to align training and recruitment with future demand;
- Remove the Age Cap on Level 7 Apprenticeships – enable lifelong learning and stronger university–industry collaboration;
- Hold Government Accountable for Housing Delivery – ensure transparent accountability for delivering new homes and improving existing housing stock;
- Mandate Equal Visibility in Schools – give vocational and apprenticeship pathways equal prominence to university routes;
- Strengthen Infrastructure Resilience – embed resilience in physical infrastructure and the skills system to meet future economic, climate, and supply chain challenges.
The industry has been calling for these things for some time
Earlier this month, LRG’s managing director of land and new homes, Tim Foreman, wrote a commentary that laid out some wishes for government action ahead of the conference.
The policy asks made in the conference largely agree with the preceding list. However, some have not been addressed by these asks, such as helping buyers to purchase homes, supporting demand and delivery of new homes.
Tim wrote: “There are immediate steps that the new secretary of state could take. First, he must restore demand from first-time buyers. While we don’t advocate an exact return of Help to Buy is clear, the fact is that it supported nearly 40% of all sales for some housebuilders and benefited thousands of first time buyers. An improved equity loan scheme could give young buyers a realistic route into ownership, unlock chains, and generate wider economic benefits.
“The mortgage guarantee scheme has been made permanent, but take-up is limited and awareness low. A more ambitious scheme, better promoted, could achieve much more.
“In the realm of new builds, tax reform is overdue. While new builds themselves are zero-rated for VAT, many associated costs still attract VAT. Reducing this burden could make marginal sites viable again.”
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