Budget and housing white paper are a step in the right direction
The Budget, the housing white paper and a recent report to government by the Green Building Council are all a step in the right direction for British home buyers and the construction industry.
However, radical changes are still vital to ensure enough homes are built says ACTIS national sales director Mark Cooper.
While the new T-level system announced in the Budget is a welcome move, it won’t address the fact that we simply don’t have enough skilled workers in the short term.
The new system, due to start in 2019, will see qualifications in various sectors, including construction, given parity with traditional academic subjects, with the aim of improving Britain’s levels of productivity.
The plans will be funded to the tune of £500m a year.
But while the move is to be welcomed, the industry needs to ensure it can provide enough homes across the country between now and when the first cohort of newly trained students complete their training in several years time.
Mark Cooper, national sales director at ACTIS, explained: “In the short term the industry does not have enough skilled workers to deliver the required housing targets – unless it embraces new and less traditional techniques which take less time and therefore fewer skilled man hours.”
One such technology is timber framed homes – which can be built around 30% faster than building in brick and block – and for which increased funding was promised in the housing white paper.
Meanwhile a Green Building Council report stating that 25 million of the UK’s existing homes need to be retrofitted between now and 2050 is to be welcomed.
The report “Building Places that Work for Everyone – industry insights into key government priorities” says that more than one home a minute will need to be insulated over the next 33 years if the government is to achieve its target of cutting carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.
“The UK has amongst the worst housing stock in the whole of Europe when it comes to energy efficiency – and it’s responsible for a third of our carbon emissions,” added Mark.
“Loft insulation is particularly easy when using ACTIS Hybrid products. it’s quick, easy clean, dust free and involves minimal waste. And because it’s thin it doesn’t really impact on the headroom.”
Because all three ACTIS Hybrid products are flexible and straightforward to install, the margin for error is very small, making the risk of thermal bridging very slight.
Indeed, thermal modelling trials carried out by certification body BM TRADA have shown that they have a dramatic impact on counteracting thermal bridging and act as excellent thermal blankets.