Labour’s plan to build 1.5m UK homes in five years is currently not very promising, recent statistics show, as the number of new homes registered in 2024 drops
The new Labour government’s plan to build 1.5m UK homes in five years is off to a rocky start, as recent statistics show.
The statistics, published by NHBC, show that in Quarter 2 of 2024, 29,281 new homes were registered in the UK, a severe drop of 23% from Q2 2023.
A drop in stats means a rough start for the Labour home plan
The paper also shows that new homes in the private sector are down by 13%, and by a whopping 39% in the rental and affordable sector.
The drop could be caused by a number of factors, but primarily will be due to a lack of labour, as noted by Tim Balcon, chief executive of the Construction Industry Training Board: “It is essential that the new Growth and Skills Levy drive up construction apprenticeship numbers that have declined under the Apprenticeship Levy.
“We simply do not have enough workers in the construction industry right now – in 2023 there was a net loss of 10,000 construction workers.
“In order to hit the Labour home target, 300,000 homes will need to be built per year.
The government has plans yet to be announced
James Dunne, head of operational real estate at Abrdn, said: “[the Government’s targets] have never been reached in annual terms without significant direct development by Government or local authorities.
“In the expected continued absence of this, the Government needs to go beyond the planning system and work in partnership and financially support the private sector to deliver significant volumes of housing across all tenures.”
PM Keir Starmer has appointed Jacqui Smith as the minister for skills, further and higher education. Smith will be taking the new Skills England scheme forward, which will aim to address gaps in UK working skills, encouraging workers to train in industries such as construction.
In her maiden speech in the House of Lords on Friday, Smith said: “My Lords, we will create a new era of opportunity, especially for those who have seen nothing but dead ends, and closed doors,” with reference to “the workers who are side-lined by technological whirlwinds that have left them wondering what has happened to their jobs.”
