UK housing minister Grant Shapps has today (Thursday 26 January) hailed a new partnership between the government and the National House Building Council (NHBC) to gain a greater insight into how efforts to get Britain building again are making a difference.
He said that in a new deal between the government and NHBC, ministers will have access to a wealth of information on the ins and outs of house building from details of the materials used to build a home, to insights on the journey from the start of the construction process through to the final sale.
NHBC provides warranties for over 80% of the UK's new build homes. Shapps said that by extending the scope of information they provide, the government will be able to drill down into the fine detail of the house building process and understand how government can help to enable the delivery of the homes the country needs.
The Government has already taken strong action to help unblock the property pipeline. The £400 million Get Britain Building Fund will restart stalled developments while the Mortgage Indemnity Scheme helps first time buyers find the funds they need to buy newly built homes.
But by sharing the insights of these housing market experts, Shapps said that he believes many more stumbling blocks could be overcome.
Information that could be shared by NHBC includes: house building activity levels; information on where projects have stalled and why; building quality and design; sustainability of new housing; speed of build; insights into the possible effects of proposed policies; and historical data comparisons.
'As we look to get Britain building again, we've taken decisive action to bring down the barriers to building with help to get stalled projects back on track, incentives for councils to build and extra support for first-time buyers,' said Shapps.
'But there's always more to be done and that's why I'm asking the experts to help us know exactly how the market ticks. NHBC have long worked closely with Government to ensure our numbers are as accurate as possible. I know that today's new partnership will broaden and deepen both our understandings of cause and effect in the housing market and bring new ideas and insights to the fore,' he added.
Imtiaz Farookhi, chief executive of NHBC said that it works closely with the government to support the delivery of high quality sustainable new homes for home owners across the country.
'High quality data plays such an important role helping the government to assess the progress of its housing programme. Our partnership will support this and help deliver more quality new homes that the country desperately needs,' he added.
