Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru |
National Assembly for Wales |
Pwyllgor yr Economi, Seilwaith a Sgiliau |
Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee |
Rhwystrau sy'n wynebu cwmnïau bach sy'n adeiladu cartefi |
Barriers facing small home building firms |
EIS(5) BFSHBF05 |
|
Ymateb gan Chartered Institute of Housing |
Evidence from Chartered Institute of Housing |
The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is the independent voice
for housing and the home of professional standards. Our goal is
simple – to provide housing professionals with the advice,
support and knowledge they need to be brilliant. CIH is a
registered charity and not-for-profit organisation. This means that
the money we make is put back into the organisation and funds the
activities we carry out to support the housing sector. We have a
diverse membership of people who work in both the public and
private sectors, in 20 countries on five continents across the
world. Further information is available at: www.cih.org
In Wales, we aim to provide a professional and impartial voice for housing across all sectors to emphasise the particular context of housing in Wales and to work with organisations to identify housing solutions.
CIH Cymru welcomes the opportunity to provide a information to support the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills committee as it undertakes its inquiry into barriers facing small home building firms.
Our response is informed by feedback from our members, our knowledge of the housing industry and expertise from our policy and practice teams.
CIH Cymru supports the development of Welsh policies, practices and legislation that aim to address the key housing challenges we face, to improve standards and supply, promote community cohesion, tackle poverty and promote equality. We promote a one housing system approach that:
· places the delivery of additional affordable housing at the top of national, regional and local strategies as a primary method of tackling the housing crisis;
· secures investment to ensure the high and sustainable quality of all homes in a sustainable framework;
· improves standards and develops the consumer voice within the private rented sector
· promotes the concept of housing led regeneration to capture the added value that housing brings in terms of economic, social and environmental outcomes;
· recognises that meeting the housing needs of our communities is a key aspect of tackling inequality and poverty;
·
ensures that that there are properly resourced support services in
place to prevent homelessness and protect the most
vulnerable;
· uses current and potential legislative and financial powers to intervene in housing markets and benefit schemes;
·
promotes consumer rights & tenant involvement;
· and supports the continued professional development of housing practitioners.
1.1 As Wales continues to
face substantial challenges in meeting demand for homes,
particularly social and affordable housing that meets the needs of
vulnerable groups and individuals across society, we welcome the
committee’s focus on how small homes builders (referred to as
SMEs in this submission) could be further enhanced and supported to
help address this challenge.
1.2 These challenges have been driven by market conditions, stagnant and decreasing wages, a falling rate of homeownership and an undersupply of homes in both the social and private rented sectors. As is the case for other UK nations, Wales faces an intensive challenge with homelessness; despite positive progress in this area more action is needed to address rough sleeping and the use of temporary accommodation - particularly considering the long-term impact on families with children.
1.3 The Welsh Government
has taken considerable steps to boost the supply of social housing
stock in Wales. During the period between 2011-12 to 2015-16 a
total of 11,508 additional homes at social rent were built, which
at the time exceeded the target of 10,000 set by the previous
government. Supply was further bolstered during this period with a
total of 10,948 long-term empty homes being brought back into use
– this compared with a target of 5,000 during the same period
[1].
Despite this progress, we believe the problems that are now
emerging mean an urgent need to transform the way we consider
housing demand and how we meet housing need both now and in the
future.
1.4 All organisations either directly delivering or supporting the delivery of social housing has an important role to play in tackling stigma which according to our “Perceptions of housing” research, conducted through our Tyfu Tai Cymru project continues to be an issues across Wales. Whilst there was positive support for the importance of building new homes in Wales the following statements reflect the breakdown between housing tenure in relation to social housing:
1.5 We believe that efforts to support the building of new homes should go hand in hand with efforts to address the ever-present stigma attached to social housing, an area where SMEs have a vital role to play.
1.6 The role of SMEs should not
be undervalued given the nature of the construction market in
Wales. SMEs have a vital role to play in ensuring the delivery of
homes in areas where at present, the large-scale house builders are
less inclined to be active. Our
Housing Voices report which captured the views of over 90
housing professionals working across Wales found that rural areas
are reliant on SME builders to deliver new homes. Some
practitioners suggested however that SMEs often lack the business
infrastructure and support to deliver on larger sites. This appears
to be an area where greater support would be beneficial.
1.7 Looking at the
construction industry more broadly in Wales there is relatively low
productivity, with falling output per person (at a UK level) over
the last few decades. The reasons for the decline include lower
skill levels, lack of investment in new techniques, methods and
materials, and a reluctance to innovate[2].
1.8 The construction workforce
faces similar challenges to those of health and social care in that
increasingly an ageing workforce is causing real concerns regarding
the future sustainability of skills/ capacity at current levels. A
report by Aviva found that SMEs are currently much less likely to
see the benefits of taking steps to retain their older workers,
only 14% of SMEs in the UK had plans in place should their
employees retire later than expected – compared to 42% of
large businesses[3].
This seems particularly concerning at a time where SMEs may be one
of the ways through which the procurements process for materials
and skills could be significantly improved.
1.9 The Construction Industry
Training Board in Wales in its “Forecasting Wales’
Future Construction Skills” report highlighted that
construction accounts for around 7% of the Welsh workforce, the
construction workforce profile largely mirrors
the age profile of
all industries in Wales – there is an ageing workforce (17%
of the Welsh construction workforce is aged 55+, similar to all
industries 20%)[4].
1.10 The Construction Information,
Advice and Guidance (CIAG) research carried out by CITB on an
annual basis investigates young people’s opinions of the
construction industry as a potential career choice and highlights
the extent of the problem. Although improving, the average score
for the attractiveness of the construction industry amongst young
people is just 4.2 out of 10[5].
1.11 It is important that going forward, the Welsh Government considered developing workforce strategies to future-proof the skills available to serve delivery across the housing system.
[1] http://www.assembly.wales/laid%20documents/pri-ld10975-em/pri-ld10975-em-e.pdf (Accessed 02/09/2018).
[2] https://41ydvd1cuyvlonsm03mpf21pub-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/CHC-BREXIT-FINAL-with-back-page.pdf (Accessed 09/09/2018).
[3] http://welshbusinessnews.co.uk/hr/why-welsh-smes-need-to-harness-their-ageing-workforce/(Accessed 09/09/2018).