(Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con): What plans the Government have to
support the recovery of the housing market after the covid-19
outbreak.
The Minister for Housing (): The Government have
engaged closely with the housing industry and stand ready to
support its recovery. I have spoken to the Home Builders
Federation large developers, small and medium-sized
enterprises, niche developers, metal matrix composite
manufacturers, housing associations, the private rented sector
and the National Residential Landlords Association to identify
their challenges. Building on the immediate support that the
Chancellor has already provided, we will bring forward measures
to support renters and buyers, as well as continuing to drive
forward a package of housing reforms to get Britain building
again.
[V]:
It is vital for delivering our national housebuilding mission and
for the wider economy that we get the construction sector back to
work as quickly as is safely possible. While it is extremely
welcome that some of the UK’s largest construction firms have
announced that they will resume work, smaller firms are nervous
about returning without a full green light from Government, so
what measures is the Minister putting in place to ensure that the
construction industry gets all the support it needs to make sound
decisions about getting sites reopened?
: I am obliged to my
right hon. Friend for that question. He is absolutely right:
getting building going again is vital to our economy. Something
like 100,000 extra homes adds 1% to our GDP, so work in
construction can and should continue where it is safe to do so.
We are working with a range of developers and organisations to
make sure that they feel it is safe to go back to work, including
the big developers that he described but also a range of SMEs
that are keen to get that green light. I hope that further
developers will follow the work that Taylor Wimpey, Vistry and
others have done to get back to work, and we will certainly help
them to do so.
