Labour’s plan for 1.5m homes to be built in this parliament is in tatters as construction rates and cement production tumble.
Official figures showed just 38,780 homes were completed between January and March, the lowest quarterly number since 2016 outside the pandemic, and an embarrassment for Housing Secretary Angela Rayner amid a storm over her own property tax affairs.
It means 129,510 properties were built in the first nine months of the Labour government – way short of the 300,000 a year required to reach 1.5m.
And UK cement production has hit its lowest level since 1950 as high energy, regulatory and employment costs hit the sector.
The Mineral Products Association (MPA) said the UK made just 7.3m tonnes last year, about half the 1990 amount, and similar to levels when rationing was in place after the Second World War.
‘Cement literally underpins the nation’s growth. We can’t deliver new homes, schools, hospitals, transport links or clean energy infrastructure without it,’ said executive director Diana Casey. ‘So the fact that production has declined so much is worrying.’
Shortfall: Just 129,510 properties were built in the first nine months of the Labour government, leaving ministers woefully short of the 300,000 a year required to reach the 1.5m goal
Rob Dix, co-founder of property advice website Property Hub, said the 1.5m homes target was a pipe dream.
‘No Government in living memory has ever hit its homebuilding target,’ he said.
The MPA warned that the drop in cement production puts the Government’s infrastructure plans, as well as housebuilding targets, at risk.
It said 750,000 tonnes of cement would be required for a project like the Sizewell C nuclear power station and nearly 8,000 for a hospital.
A four-bedroom family home requires three to five tonnes.
The MPA said imports, which have nearly tripled in the past 20 years, have left Britain exposed.
‘Cement is an essential industry, but the sector is increasingly under threat.
‘We’re calling on the Government to help put domestic production on a level playing field so that it can compete fairly with imports,’ said Casey.
DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS
AJ Bell
AJ Bell
Easy investing and ready-made portfolios
Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown
Free fund dealing and investment ideas
interactive investor
interactive investor
Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month
InvestEngine
InvestEngine
Account and trading fee-free ETF investing
Trading 212
Trading 212
Free share dealing and no account fee
Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.
Compare the best investing account for you
#Labours #plan #build #1.5m #homes #tatters #construction #rates #cement #production #tumble
