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HS2 Wendover Tunnel: Central Section Complete

HS2 reaches a milestone in the Chilterns

HS2 has completed the central section of the Wendover green tunnel in Buckinghamshire. Engineers have linked the two halves of the structure for the first time. The site team signed their names on the final precast concrete segment before a crane lifted it into place in October 2026.

The achievement shows how large infrastructure projects deliver results one stage at a time. It also highlights the skill and financial backing that contractors need to complete work of this scale.

HS2 Wendover Tunnel: Central Section Complete — Image: HS2

What has been built at Wendover?

The tunnel runs for around 1.4 kilometres to the west of Wendover, alongside the A413. Builders used 2,740 precast concrete segments to create an M-shaped structure. The shape gives northbound and southbound trains their own separate halves.

Each segment weighs between 16 and 40 tonnes. Stanton Precast makes them in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, and lorries carry them to the site. EKFB leads the construction. This joint venture of Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall delivers HS2’s central section through Buckinghamshire and into South Warwickshire.

The team built the central section in two parts. This approach let crews prepare the ground, install segments and backfill at different points at the same time. It kept the programme moving.

HS2 Ltd’s project manager, Umesh Gorasia, welcomed the progress. He said: “It’s great to see the two halves of the tunnel linked up for the first time. Once complete, the green tunnel will dramatically reduce disruption from passing trains and blend the railway into the countryside.”

He added: “There’s still some way to go, but we’re making good progress and I’d like to thank the team for all their hard work.”

Why did HS2 choose cut and cover?

Most people think of HS2 tunnels as deep bores driven by huge machines. Wendover is different. Engineers dug a wide cutting, built the tunnel inside it and then replaced the earth on top. This method is known as cut and cover.

The decision to build a tunnel came during the Hybrid Bill petitioning process. The railway already sits beside the A413 and the London to Aylesbury line. Even so, the rolling chalk hills of the Chilterns made a covered route necessary. Local concern about the landscape also played a part. EKFB then had to find the best way to deliver it.

The tunnel is designed to reduce noise to local residents and also gives builders a practical way to restore the landscape. Crews excavated more than 1.2 million cubic metres of material, mostly chalk, to create the level base. They stored it on site and are now returning it around and above the structure. Once the planting matures, the railway should blend into the countryside.

The “green tunnel” label comes from this finished look. The structure cuts noise for nearby residents and protects the surrounding green space. HS2 will use five of these tunnels between London and Birmingham. The others are at Chipping Warden, Greatworth, Burton Green and Copthall in Hillingdon. Copthall finished earlier this summer.

The engineering challenges

The site is narrow, and that created a logistical puzzle. There is little room to store heavy segments, so lorries must deliver them just in time for lifting. Crews also had to share the cutting with an internal haul road. Dump trucks use it to move chalk along the route without joining public roads.

Groundwater added another test. Half of the tunnel sits in the water table. Engineers built a low-permeability wall to stop the cutting from flooding.

Backfilling demands equal care. The segments do not connect mechanically. They rely on their shape to hold position. Engineers remember the Gerrards Cross tunnel collapse in 2005 and have applied the lessons. Machines working above the tunnel may weigh no more than 12 tonnes. Crews must also keep the fill on either side within 250 millimetres of each other in height. This keeps the load balanced as the earth builds up.

The team also borrowed ideas from earlier tunnels. At Chipping Warden, crews learned to use pre-assembled reinforcement cages for the floor slab. This kept workers out of a very confined space. At Ellesborough Road, engineers used a self-propelled modular transporter on 16 sets of wheels. It lifted the temporary bridge beams from below and moved them into position.

What happens next at Wendover?

Work now turns to the portals at each end, the floor slab and the internal fit-out. Backfilling and landscaping will continue. The portals will have “porous” roof slots. These let air escape gradually and reduce tunnel boom, the loud pressure wave that fast trains can create at tunnel exits.

Earlier reports suggested the team hoped to finish assembly and backfilling by 2027. The rebuild of Ellesborough Road should follow around 2028 or 2029.

A busy month for HS2

The tunnel news follows another milestone further north. HS2 recently completed the Westbury Viaduct near Brackley. The 320-metre structure will carry trains across the River Great Ouse floodplain.

HS2’s senior project manager, Paul Cooper, praised the team. He said: “It’s been amazing to watch Westbury viaduct come together over the last few years and I’d like to thank everyone involved in getting this incredible structure over the finishing line.”

He continued: “This section of the railway is now really starting to come together, and with the viaduct complete, our focus will turn to completing the earthworks and other nearby structures.”

Construction Government Policy House Building Nationwide Sureties News

Your First Home scheme now confirmed

Getting onto the property ladder remains one of the biggest financial hurdles for younger people in Britain. The government has now unveiled its answer, a new equity loan scheme called Your First Home. Here is what we know so far, how it is expected to work, and what industry experts are saying.

What is the Your First Home scheme?

The government is launching a new scheme to make getting on the housing ladder affordable for people able to save a small deposit, Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed. It was announced on 26 September 2026 and lets buyers purchase a new-build home with a 2.5% deposit, backed by a 20% government equity loan. The announcement came as Burnham arrived in Liverpool ahead of his first Labour Party conference since becoming prime minister.

The scheme applies to England only. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it would help first-time buyers get onto the property ladder while stimulating housing supply. Burnham said too many young people are struggling with the cost of housing, with many giving up hope of ever having a home to call their own.

How will Your First Home work?

The mechanics follow a familiar pattern. The scheme combines a 2.5% buyer deposit, a 20% government equity loan and a mortgage covering the remaining 77.5%. In practice, a buyer purchasing a £250,000 new-build home would need a deposit of £6,250 and a government loan of £50,000, and would then borrow the rest through a conventional mortgage.

The homes must come from approved sellers. Buyers will purchase from developers signed up to the scheme, and the loan carries an initial interest-free period so that housing costs stay affordable. The government has also said it wants the support to reach those who need it most. Burnham said the scheme would aim to help people who do not have support from the “bank of mum and dad”.

To keep the scheme targeted, ministers have confirmed a household income cap, local property price caps and a developer contribution, with the detail to be set out at the Budget on 28th October. Buyers with large savings or high salaries are expected to be excluded from the scheme. Pre-registration is due to open by the end of 2026.

What we still don’t know

Several crucial details remain unconfirmed. The budget envelope, the level of the income cap, how the local price caps are set, the length of the interest-free period, the developer fee scale, and whether London gets a larger loan have not yet been announced. Some outlets have reported a five-year interest-free period and a £600,000 price ceiling, but some press reports have suggested the interest-free period will be five years, and the official length is still to be confirmed. Prospective buyers should treat those figures as unofficial until the Budget. Ministers have not yet confirmed whether there is an age restriction on the scheme.

The interest terms after the initial period will matter enormously. Under the previous scheme, interest equivalent to 1.75% of the equity loan became payable in year six. That later rose in line with inflation. Buyers will need to plan for how they will cope once free borrowing ends, whether by remortgaging, repaying part of the loan or selling.

How does it compare with Help to Buy?

Comparisons with Help to Buy are inevitable. That scheme was introduced in 2013 by then-Chancellor George Osborne and closed to new applicants on 31 October 2022. An evaluation found more than 387,000 properties were purchased through it, of which 328,000 were by first-time buyers.

The key differences are the deposit and the targeting. Help to Buy required a 5% deposit, and had regional property price caps and no income cap, whereas Your First Home will have local price caps and a household income cap. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said the new scheme would “build on the lessons learned from previous schemes, while retaining the benefits”. Chancellor John Healey is due to set out the full details at the Budget.

There is one technical point lenders will scrutinise. A 2.5% deposit with a 20% loan produces a 77.5% mortgage, rather than the 75% typical under Help to Buy. Whether lenders treat the equity loan as equity or as a second charge, and how they price the mortgage, will determine how much of the modelled monthly saving is real.

Industry reaction: welcome, but supply is the real test

Housebuilders have long argued for demand-side support, so the industry response has been broadly positive, though with important caveats about supply. Paul Turner, CEO of the National House Building Council (NHBC), said: “News from Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner of a new equity loan scheme to help first-time buyers purchase new build homes is a welcome boost for the industry. The security of owning a high-quality, safe and sustainable home has for too long been out of reach for many hard-working people.”

Turner added a note of caution: “There is no one single solution to the housing challenge. Supply must also be addressed through accelerated planning reform and the easing of unnecessary regulatory burdens. What’s more it’s vital to keep focus on maintaining quality in the construction of new homes.”

The chief executive of the National Federation of Builders was similarly supportive, though more pointed about the risks. “First time buyer lending schemes are absolutely vital to buyers and builders, but without a huge increase in supply, there is a risk that buyers overpay for homes. This is why Labour’s commitment to 300,000 homes a year is so important.” The federation warned that “demand led policies that are unsupported by supply strategies create unintended consequences, such as fuelling house price rises and risking negative equity on certain home types, like apartments, because premiums were paid to get on the housing ladder rather than to purchase the appropriate homes.”

Political opposition centres on the same concern. The Conservatives warned the policy would leave first-time buyers taking on more debt and risk “pushing up the price of new homes”. Critics of Help to Buy made similar arguments, since the earlier scheme launched into a rising market and was accused of fuelling it. Supporters counter that today’s market is softer. The government’s own 1.5 million homes target also looks difficult, with Rayner acknowledging earlier this month that there was only a “slim chance” of meeting it by the next election.

What should first-time buyers do now?

For now, the sensible approach is preparation rather than commitment. Buyers thinking about a new build should keep saving, check their credit files and keep an eye on the Budget on 28 October, when the income cap, price limits and interest terms will be published. Anyone tempted by a low deposit should also stress-test their finances for the day the interest-free period ends, and consider what a fall in house prices could mean for a mortgage covering 77.5% of the value.

Your First Home could make ownership achievable for people who can manage monthly payments but not a large deposit. Whether it delivers lasting benefit or simply lifts new-build prices will depend on the details still to come, and on whether the government can back it with the supply of homes the industry is calling for.

Apprenticeship Construction Government Policy Nationwide Sureties News

Government prepares construction jobs plan

The Government is drawing up a new Construction Jobs Plan aimed at tackling the shortage of workers across the UK construction industry, with Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook confirming that a comprehensive package of measures will be published later this year.

The plan is expected to address not only the number of people entering construction, but also the industry’s ability to train, retain and upskill workers at a time when the Government is simultaneously seeking to accelerate housebuilding, retrofit and major infrastructure projects.

Giving evidence to the House of Lords Built Environment Committee, Pennycook acknowledged that construction is facing “quite serious pressures” on its workforce and said the Government needs to do more to expand, upskill and diversify the sector.

Government prepares construction jobs plan — https://depositphotos.com/portfolio-1004918.html?content=photo

“We are going to publish a construction jobs plan later this year,” he told the committee. He described it as a “far more comprehensive package of support from the Government and what the industry is doing, as well, to address shortages”.

The announcement comes as the latest figures from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) underline the scale of the challenge. Its Construction Workforce Outlook 2026-2030 estimates that an average of 41,200 additional workers will be required every year between 2026 and 2030.

That equates to around 206,000 additional workers over the five-year period, taking the projected UK construction workforce from 2.61 million in 2025 to around 2.68 million by 2030. The requirement reflects both anticipated growth in construction activity and the need to replace workers leaving the industry.

Construction workforce under pressure

The timing of the Construction Jobs Plan is particularly important because the Government has set ambitious targets for housebuilding while the industry is already struggling with recruitment and retention.

CITB forecasts that construction output will remain subdued during 2026 before recovering from 2027 onwards. Public new housing is expected to be one of the strongest areas of growth, with average annual growth of 3.6% between 2026 and 2030. Infrastructure is forecast to grow by 2.5% annually, while private new housing is expected to increase by 2.5%.

The Government is committed to delivering 1.5 million homes in England during the Parliament, alongside its ambitions for social housing, infrastructure and the retrofit of existing properties.

That creates a fundamental problem: planning reform can make land available and speed up permissions, while investment can create demand, but neither can deliver homes if there are insufficient skilled workers available to build them.

Pennycook told peers that the workforce challenge was not specifically related to the Government’s New Towns Programme, but was a national issue.

“There is no doubt that there are quite serious pressures on the construction workforce,” he said. “We said, from the moment we were elected, that we have to do more to expand and upskill that workforce, and diversify it.”

He also sees the New Towns Programme as an opportunity to provide greater certainty for construction businesses, particularly firms involved in modern methods of construction (MMC).

Pipeline certainty is critical

One of the most important themes emerging from the Government’s thinking is the relationship between workforce capacity and a reliable pipeline of work.

Pennycook argued that one reason Category 1 MMC has struggled to develop is the lack of certainty over future demand. A long-term New Towns Programme, he said, could provide the pipeline required to give MMC businesses the confidence to invest and grow.

This is an important point for the wider construction sector. Businesses are unlikely to recruit and train significant numbers of workers if they cannot see sufficient work ahead to keep those employees occupied.

The National Federation of Builders (NFB) believes the same principle should apply to traditional SMEs.

Richard Beresford, chief executive of the NFB, said: “The government has put several strategies in place to better align a pipeline of work with the ambition to grow the construction workforce, and they have been communicative across industry to understand our perspectives.

“The recognition of the MMC pipeline that secures employment and investment must be carried into the broader jobs strategy, particularly in planning reforms and procurement. Underpinning any plan must be the understanding that because SMEs train 8 in 10 construction apprentices, they are key to capacity growth. The mantra must be ‘ensuring the trainers and retainers win work’.”

The argument is that construction workforce policy cannot simply concentrate on training places. Employers need the confidence to take on apprentices and new workers, while those workers need sustainable careers once their training is complete.

Government already investing in construction skills

The Construction Jobs Plan will build on substantial investment already announced by the Government.

The £625 million Construction Skills Package is designed to deliver up to 60,000 additional skilled construction workers during the Parliament. It includes increased training provision, improved teaching, industry placements and ten Construction Technical Excellence Colleges.

A new Foundation Apprenticeship is also intended to provide another route into the industry, while the Government has highlighted the importance of attracting women and people returning to the workforce.

The Government has also allocated funding to expand construction training capacity. Some £195 million is being used to increase capacity in construction courses, with employer involvement a key requirement of the programme. (GOV.UK Assets)

However, the CITB figures demonstrate why further action is required. Even if the Government achieves its target of 60,000 additional skilled workers, that represents only part of the additional workforce requirement identified by the industry body.

The Government therefore needs to address recruitment, training and retention simultaneously.

NFB warns against repeating MMC mistakes

The NFB has also warned that the Government needs to learn lessons from previous attempts to stimulate MMC.

Rico Wojtulewicz, director of policy at the NFB, said: “Any measures to grow and sustain worker capacity require an understanding of how industry operates. For example, the Conservative government spent billions of pounds on MMC but because they focused on volumetric, ignoring 99% the of MMC that 100% of industry can utilise, their approach failed.

“Labour are right to use new towns to enable MMC, but if it is just those built in factories, rather than enabling the definitions already established by the broader MMC Framework, they will embed failure and do little to nothing to ensure we increase the skills and workforce required to retrofit 28 million UK homes.”

Wojtulewicz believes the decline of SME housebuilding illustrates the importance of maintaining a diverse construction base.

“History teaches us that the mantra of ‘ensuring trainers and retainers win work’ is the one to follow and the Government is right to link demand with workforce growth,” he said.

“In the 1980’s, SMEs built around 40% of homes and we trained more than 20,000 bricklayers and carpenters. In 2026, SMEs build 9% of homes and in total, fewer than 20.000 construction apprentices get trained.”

His comments underline a wider concern that concentrating too heavily on large developers and factory-based construction could fail to address the underlying skills shortage.

Can the Construction Jobs Plan deliver?

The Government has already acknowledged that the answer requires more than simply increasing the number of training places.

Pennycook pointed to investment in skills, the work being undertaken by the Department for Education, greater devolution of skills provision and initiatives such as Technical Excellence Colleges and homebuilding hubs on large-scale sites.

The challenge will be turning those individual initiatives into a coherent workforce strategy.

That will mean making construction careers more attractive, reducing the number of people who leave the sector, improving training and ensuring employers have sufficient confidence in the future pipeline to take on apprentices and new entrants.

It will also require construction to attract workers from a broader section of the population, including women and younger people, while ensuring existing skilled workers remain in the industry for longer.

The Government’s planning reforms are intended to accelerate housebuilding and create greater certainty for developers. New planning rules introduced in August are designed to fast-track homes around stations and other well-connected locations, while wider reforms seek to create a faster and more predictable planning system. (GOV.UK)

But the success of those reforms will ultimately depend on whether the construction industry has the capacity to respond.

The forthcoming Construction Jobs Plan therefore has the potential to become a critical part of the Government’s wider housing strategy. With CITB forecasting a requirement for 206,000 additional workers by 2030, the issue is no longer simply about how many homes Britain wants to build.

It is about whether the country has enough people with the right skills to build them.

Cowboy Builders Government Policy Nationwide Sureties

The problems caused by cowboy builders and the government response

Few phrases strike as much dread into a homeowner’s heart as “cowboy builder”. Anyone who has commissioned building work, whether a loft conversion, an extension or a simple kitchen refit, will know the fear of handing over a deposit to someone who then disappears, does shoddy work, or leaves a job half-finished and moves on to the next unsuspecting victim. It is a problem that has plagued the UK construction industry for decades, and one that successive governments have struggled to get a grip on. Now, following a new announcement from Downing Street, ministers say they are finally putting the cowboys out of business.

What exactly is a cowboy builder?

The term “cowboy builder” is used to describe a tradesperson, or more often an unregulated firm posing as one, who takes on building work without the skills, qualifications or intention to complete it properly. Some cowboy builders are simply incompetent, cutting corners on materials or workmanship to save money and boost their profit margin. Others are outright fraudsters, who take large upfront payments and either vanish altogether or spin out a project for months while extracting more and more money from an increasingly desperate homeowner. Because anyone in the UK can currently call themselves a builder, with no legal requirement to hold a qualification, register with a trade body, or demonstrate competence of any kind, the industry has long been an easy target for opportunists.

The scale of the problem is considerable. Government figures show that more than one in four UK adults who carried out home improvement work in the past eighteen months experienced problems with their builder, ranging from projects abandoned halfway through to shoddy workmanship and even, in some cases, elderly homeowners being pressured into paying over the odds. More than a third of those affected faced additional costs, losing an average of £750 as a result. Across the country as a whole, people lost more than £10.3 billion in 2024 alone on home and garden maintenance work due to overcharging, unfair practices or work that simply never materialised. Beyond the financial hit, the human cost is significant too, with families left living in a building site, sometimes for months on end, and suffering the kind of stress that can affect health, relationships and daily life.

The government’s response

The prime minister, Andy Burnham, has now unveiled a package of measures designed to tackle the problem head-on. Speaking as the plans were announced, Burnham did not mince his words about the damage rogue traders cause. “Cowboy builders don’t just rip people off,” he said. “They leave families with months of stress, the disruption of unfinished work, and that horrible feeling of being taken advantage of. Not only that, but they give the vast majority of decent, hardworking tradespeople a bad name.” He added that the goal of the new measures was straightforward: “We’re putting the cowboys out of business. These changes mean you’ll now have the option to keep your money safe and release it bit by bit as the work gets done.”

At the centre of the announcement are two new initiatives. The first is an Approved Code, developed jointly by the Furniture and Home Improvement Ombudsman and the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, which building firms can sign up to in order to demonstrate that they meet higher standards of customer service, transparency and dispute resolution. The code is expected to have its first participating firms on board by the end of September, with full implementation planned for December 2026. The second, and arguably more significant, measure is a new payment platform called Trusted Payments. Rather than handing over large sums upfront, homeowners using the app will be able to link their payments to specific project milestones, releasing funds only as agreed stages of work are completed. Built on payment infrastructure provided by Stripe, with retention monies held through an independent trust arrangement, the system is designed to give both parties confidence: homeowners know their money is protected, while reputable builders are assured of prompt payment for completed work. The app is expected to be available to more than 100,000 traders by the end of September.

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds framed the changes as part of a broader push to protect consumers, saying the government was “taking action to protect consumers, support reputable traders and make sure people can spend their money with greater confidence and security.” Downing Street has also linked the announcement to a wider series of consumer protection measures, including recent action against subscription traps and misleading discount pricing.

Industry reaction: cautious welcome, calls for more

The response from the building trade itself has been broadly positive, albeit with a significant caveat. Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, called the plans “a great move for the industry” but warned that voluntary schemes have a poor track record of solving the problem on their own. “It is a real concern that this is just another voluntary programme without regulation behind it,” he said, arguing that the long-term solution has to be a compulsory licensing scheme for building companies, since currently anyone can set up as a builder with no minimum competence requirement.

The National Federation of Builders struck a similarly supportive but pointed tone, welcoming the direction of travel while noting some overlap with existing industry codes of conduct, and suggesting the scheme could evolve into a fully digitised Building Passport that records the history of work carried out on every property. The National Federation of Roofing Contractors also backed the principle behind the reforms, though it cautioned that any new payment system “must not place an unreasonable administrative or financial burden on contractors who are simply trying to get paid fairly for work they have completed.”

What homeowners can do now

Until the new code and payment system are fully bedded in, homeowners are not without options. Checking whether a firm is genuinely registered with a recognised trade body such as the Federation of Master Builders, rather than simply claiming affiliation, remains a sensible first step, as does searching for accredited traders through TrustMark, the government-backed quality scheme. Word of mouth recommendations from neighbours or local community groups continue to be one of the most reliable ways of finding a trustworthy tradesperson, and paying at least part of any large bill by credit card offers an extra layer of protection, since card providers share liability if a firm fails to deliver. Above all, trusting one’s instincts still counts for a great deal; if something about a builder or a quote feels wrong, it usually is.

The measures announced this week will not eliminate cowboy builders overnight, and critics are right to point out that a voluntary scheme cannot force rogue traders to change their ways. But for an industry that has operated for years with virtually no formal safeguards for consumers, the combination of an accredited code of conduct and a milestone-based payment system represents a meaningful step forward, and one that reputable builders, who have long been undercut and outshouted by the cowboys, are likely to welcome.

Developers Government Policy House Building Nationwide Sureties News

Andy Burnham’s £10bn housing pledge is a bold first step

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has confirmed one of the most significant housing interventions in recent memory, allocating nearly £10 billion to 33 Strategic Partners tasked with delivering 73,600 new social and affordable homes across England, outside London, over the next decade. The announcement, made alongside Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, represents the first major tranche of the wider £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) and signals a deliberate shift back towards council-led housebuilding after decades of decline.

The scale of the funding is matched by the scale of the need it addresses, with close to 180,000 children currently reported to be growing up in temporary accommodation and many more households stuck on local authority waiting lists.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated: “No child should be raised in a hostel room. And no family should wait ten years for a front door of their own.”

He added: “Councils built this country out of a housing crisis once before. Backed properly, and trusted to get on with it, they will do it again.”

That framing matters, because the practical heart of this announcement is not simply the cash but who is being trusted to spend it. For the first time, individual councils have been awarded Strategic Partnership status directly with Homes England, rather than having to bid scheme-by-scheme as in previous funding rounds.

Cambridge City Council, Eastleigh Borough Council and Newcastle City Council are the three local authorities to secure this status, joining a roster of 33 partners that also includes major housing associations such as Clarion and Stonewater, and developers including Vistry Homes, several of which have picked up the maximum individual allocation of £350 million.

Angela Rayner, speaking alongside the Prime Minister, brought a personal note to the announcement, saying that families should not be left raising children without a place to call home and that nobody should spend years waiting for somewhere safe and affordable to live. She also drew on her own background, recalling that a secure home was the foundation of a better life for her and that she would not have reached her current position without one. That personal framing is likely to resonate with voters who feel housing policy is too often discussed in abstract, technical terms.

On the numbers, roughly £9.58 billion of the total is earmarked for the 33 partners outside London, with around 60 per cent of the resulting homes expected to be for social rent, the cheapest form of tenancy, let at close to half of typical market rates. More than £2 billion is destined for mayoral areas, with Greater Manchester alone in line for an estimated £529 million to support around 4,400 homes, reflecting Burnham’s own political roots as the region’s former mayor. Liverpool City Region has been told to expect £380 million. London, meanwhile, is being handled separately through the Greater London Authority, which has secured up to £11.7 billion of its own funding envelope for the capital.

Beyond the headline grant, the government has attached some supporting measures designed to help councils actually use the money. An additional £46 million will be invested over three years to build up councils’ skills and capacity for large-scale housebuilding, an area many local authorities have struggled with after years of reduced direct delivery. Ministers have also pointed to Right to Buy receipts, worth £1.61 billion from sales in the last financial year alone, as a further funding stream councils can draw on alongside the new grant.

Reaction from the housing sector has been broadly welcoming, if watchful. Gavin Smart, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, welcomed the strong focus on social rent homes and the recognition of the role councils, housing associations and other providers will play in delivering the next generation of affordable housing, while noting that the investment could meaningfully reduce homelessness and ease pressure on temporary accommodation if it is delivered at pace. That caveat, delivered at pace, is likely to be the defining test of this policy over the coming years, given the well-documented planning, procurement and construction capacity constraints that have slowed previous housebuilding drives.

It is also worth noting the political backdrop to the announcement. Burnham had previously argued, before taking on the role of Prime Minister, that the entire £39 billion fund should be reserved for social rent housing rather than split between social rent and other forms of affordable tenure. The 60 per cent split confirmed in this announcement represents something of a compromise on that earlier position, a reminder that even flagship housing policy is subject to the trade-offs of government. Separately, the government used the same announcement to confirm it will strip back social value requirements on government contracts, removing certain sustainability and net zero conditions, a move that has drawn less attention but could prove significant for how these homes are built.

Taken as a whole, this is a genuinely substantial commitment, both financially and symbolically, restoring councils to a central role in housebuilding for the first time in a generation. Whether it translates into front doors for the families currently stuck in temporary accommodation will depend less on the size of the headline figure and more on the unglamorous work of planning permissions, contractor capacity and local delivery over the next ten years. For now, the ambition is clear; the proof will be in the build.

Construction Government Policy Nationwide Sureties News

What do the proposed changes to earned settlement mean for construction

The Government’s proposed overhaul of UK settlement rules could have significant consequences for the construction industry, which relies heavily on migrant labour to fill skills shortages.

The proposed earned settlement system would replace the current model under which many migrants can apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after five years. Instead, the Government wants settlement to become something that migrants must effectively earn through their contribution to the UK economy and society.

The consultation on the proposals closed in February 2026 after receiving more than 200,000 responses. However, the Government has yet to publish its final response. In July, Immigration Minister Mike Tapp confirmed that a substantive response would be provided alongside the consultation outcome in autumn 2026.

What is earned settlement?

Settlement, also known as ILR, gives a person the right to live and work permanently in the UK without the restrictions attached to most temporary immigration routes.

Under current rules, many Skilled Worker visa holders can apply for ILR after five years, provided they meet the relevant requirements. Once settled, they are no longer dependent on an employer for immigration sponsorship.

The Government’s proposed earned settlement model is based on the principle that permanent residence should reflect an individual’s contribution and integration rather than simply the passage of time.

The Home Office says settlement should recognise “sustained good conduct, contribution and integration”, with applicants assessed against four broad pillars: contribution, integration, character and residence.

The central proposal is to increase the standard qualifying period from five to 10 years, with the possibility of reducing or extending that period according to an individual’s circumstances.

How would the new system work?

The consultation proposed a 10-year starting point, with a series of adjustments.

For example, achieving C1-level English could reduce the qualifying period by one year. Earning taxable income of at least £50,270 for three consecutive years could reduce it by five years, while earning £125,140 or more for three years could provide a seven-year reduction.

Five years of employment in a specified public-service occupation could also produce a five-year reduction, while significant community involvement, such as volunteering, could potentially reduce the period by three to five years. Global Talent and Innovator Founder applicants could potentially benefit from a seven-year reduction.

The proposals also contain penalties. Receiving public funds for less than 12 months could add five years to the qualifying period, while receiving them for more than 12 months could add 10 years. Illegal entry, entering on a visit visa or overstaying for six months or more could add up to 20 years.

The Government has also proposed removing the existing 10-year long-residence route, replacing it with the new system of adjustable qualifying periods.

One particularly controversial element is the suggestion that some lower-skilled workers could face a 15-year baseline. This matters considerably to construction because a number of trades have historically relied on overseas recruitment.

Why construction could be particularly exposed

Construction already faces persistent shortages in skilled workers, while the industry has a substantial migrant workforce. Research cited by PBC Today puts the proportion of construction workers born outside the UK at around 16%.

The Government’s own immigration rules also demonstrate the importance of overseas recruitment to some construction trades. Bricklayers, roofers, carpenters and joiners, and certain construction trades are currently included on the Immigration Salary List, allowing qualifying workers to access reduced salary and skills thresholds.

That creates a potential mismatch between immigration policy and the industry’s labour requirements.

A worker may be sufficiently skilled and sufficiently valuable for a construction business to sponsor them, but still earn below the proposed £50,270 threshold needed for the five-year settlement reduction. Such a worker could therefore face the full 10-year qualifying period, or potentially longer if the final rules retain differentiated treatment for lower-skilled occupations.

This is particularly important for trades where salaries do not necessarily reflect their economic importance. A highly experienced bricklayer, carpenter or roofer may be difficult to replace but is unlikely to earn anything close to £125,140 a year.

The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee has already questioned the logic behind the proposed earnings thresholds. Dr Madeleine Sumption of the Migration Observatory described the use of tax thresholds as “a little arbitrary”, while former Migration Advisory Committee chair Professor Alan Manning warned that the £50,270 threshold could even create an incentive for employers to suppress migrant workers’ wages to delay their settlement.

That is a significant concern for construction employers because the ability to retain experienced workers is already an important part of managing skills shortages.

Sponsorship costs could increase

For construction businesses, the practical impact would extend beyond immigration status.

A worker who takes twice as long to achieve settlement could remain sponsored for twice as long. That means additional visa applications, immigration administration, compliance responsibilities and associated costs.

Joanne Hennessy, partner and head of business immigration at TLT, warned that employers who previously expected to face “at most five years of cost and compliance” could potentially see that period double. She also highlighted the risk that longer settlement routes could make it harder for construction companies to attract and retain international workers.

There is also a retention issue. Once an employee obtains ILR, they have considerably greater freedom to change employer. Keeping someone on a sponsored visa for longer may therefore give employers greater control, but it can also make the UK less attractive to workers considering where to build a long-term career.

That could become particularly problematic when construction companies are competing internationally for experienced engineers, project managers and specialist tradespeople.

A potential incentive to pay more

There is, however, another side to the proposals.

Linking settlement to earnings could encourage employers and employees to invest in progression, training and higher-skilled roles. A worker who moves into a more senior position and crosses the relevant earnings threshold could potentially shorten their route to settlement.

For construction, that could support career progression from skilled trades into supervisory, managerial and technical roles.

But it also risks creating a two-tier workforce in which the workers most essential to delivering projects are not necessarily those who benefit most from the settlement system.

The Parliamentary Home Affairs Committee has warned that the proposed earnings reductions could be poorly targeted. It noted that the median income of Skilled Workers, excluding Health and Care workers, was £56,600 in 2023/24, meaning many would potentially qualify for the five-year reduction, but questioned why someone making a positive fiscal contribution while earning below £50,270 should face the full 10-year route.

What happens next?

The most important point for construction employers is that earned settlement is not yet law. The existing settlement rules remain in force while the Government considers the consultation responses.

The Government has indicated that the final consultation response is expected in autumn 2026. It is also considering whether transitional arrangements should protect people already in the UK who are working towards settlement.

That transitional issue could be critical. Applying substantially longer settlement periods retrospectively to workers who came to Britain expecting to qualify under the existing five-year system has attracted strong criticism. The House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee described retrospective changes as potentially “manifestly unfair” and recommended against applying them to people already on a qualifying route.

For construction businesses, the sensible approach is therefore to treat earned settlement as a significant potential workforce-planning issue rather than a settled immigration rule.

The industry needs clarity on whether existing workers will be protected, how lower-paid but strategically important occupations will be treated, and whether the final system will recognise contribution in terms broader than salary alone.

For a sector already struggling to recruit and retain enough skilled people to meet housing, infrastructure and net-zero ambitions, making the route to permanent residence longer and less predictable could carry a substantial cost. Unless the final rules are carefully designed around genuine skills shortages, there is a risk that earned settlement could make the UK less competitive in the global market for construction talent at precisely the time the industry needs more workers, not fewer.

Construction Government Policy Nationwide Sureties News Public Works Contract

New Hospital Programme awards 11 construction partnerships

The Government has taken another major step in delivering its long-term NHS infrastructure plans by confirming 11 construction partnerships under the New Hospital Programme (NHP). The agreements mark a significant milestone for the programme’s innovative Hospital 2.0 delivery model, which aims to build hospitals faster, more efficiently and at better value for taxpayers through standardised design and collaborative procurement.

The partnerships will deliver the first wave of major hospital projects using the Hospital 2.0 Alliance (H2A), bringing together NHS trusts and leading construction companies under a new collaborative framework designed to replace traditional procurement methods that have often delayed major public sector projects.

The announcement represents one of the most significant developments in the Government’s wider £37 billion New Hospital Programme, which aims to modernise England’s ageing hospital estate while creating greater certainty for the construction industry and supporting thousands of skilled jobs.

Hospital 2.0: A New Way to Build Hospitals

At the heart of the programme is Hospital 2.0, a standardised approach to designing, constructing and operating NHS hospitals.

Rather than treating every new hospital as a bespoke project, Hospital 2.0 introduces repeatable designs, standardised components and modern methods of construction. Around 80% of each hospital will follow common design principles while allowing the remaining elements to be tailored to local clinical requirements. The approach is intended to reduce design costs, speed up construction, improve quality and enable multiple hospitals to be built simultaneously.

The programme also focuses on improving patient outcomes. New hospitals will feature predominantly single-patient bedrooms, digitally enabled facilities, flexible clinical spaces, improved patient flow and sustainable building techniques. The standardised designs are intended to provide hospitals capable of meeting NHS needs for at least the next 60 years while enhancing infection prevention, staff wellbeing and operational efficiency.

Eleven Partnerships Confirmed

The Hospital 2.0 Alliance has matched ten leading construction organisations with 11 Wave 1 hospital schemes following a collaborative allocation process.

The proposed delivery partnerships include Airedale NHS Foundation Trust with GRAHAM; Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust with Willmott Dixon; Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust with Sacyr UK; Hinchingbrooke Hospital with Kier Construction; Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with Laing O’Rourke; James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust with Skanska; Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with Integrated Health Projects; Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust with Morgan Sindall Construction; North Manchester General Hospital with Bovis Construction; and West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust with Dragados.

The collaborative model differs significantly from conventional procurement by creating long-term partnerships rather than one-off contracts. The intention is that lessons learned on one hospital can be rapidly applied across future projects, improving productivity, safety and consistency throughout the programme.

Cutting Bureaucracy and Speeding Up Delivery

The Government says the new arrangements will reduce procurement delays that have historically slowed major NHS capital projects.

Karin Smyth, Minister of State for Health, said: “For too long, the construction of new hospitals has been bogged down by bureaucratic procurement processes, even after full approval and funding was in place, and we’re determined to change that.

“The changes announced today are a major step forward in streamlining the procurement process. Patients can look forward to new hospitals being delivered quicker, industry can plan with certainty, and taxpayers can be assured that we are getting maximum value for their money.

“With stronger collaboration, shared learning and a boost for jobs, this further demonstrates this government’s commitment to the New Hospital Programme, providing world-class facilities for the NHS and helping the economy in the process.”

Learning from Every Project

One of Hospital 2.0’s defining features is the creation of a collaborative supply chain through the Hospital 2.0 Alliance.

Instead of contractors working independently on individual projects, the framework encourages knowledge sharing across every scheme. Construction partners will work to common standards for health and safety, quality, sustainability and productivity, enabling continuous improvement as each new hospital progresses.

The programme also places significant emphasis on industrialised construction methods, including greater use of off-site manufacturing, standardised building components, digital design and data-driven project management. These approaches are expected to reduce waste, improve programme certainty and help address skills shortages within the construction sector.

Delivering Better Hospitals

The first annual New Hospital Programme report highlights Hospital 2.0 as a key enabler for delivering future NHS infrastructure more efficiently following the programme’s reset in 2025.

The report states that the standardised design is now substantially complete, with prototype patient rooms already tested and final design products being shared with participating NHS trusts. The programme has also strengthened governance, commercial oversight and technical expertise through the appointment of its Health Delivery Partnership and the mobilisation of the Hospital 2.0 Alliance.

While challenges remain, including maintaining market capacity and delivering multiple large-scale projects concurrently, ministers believe the new delivery model provides a more realistic and sustainable framework for transforming the NHS estate.

For patients, the programme promises modern, digitally enabled hospitals designed around privacy, safety and clinical efficiency. For the construction industry, it offers a long-term pipeline of work with greater certainty. For taxpayers, the Government hopes Hospital 2.0 will deliver better value through standardisation, collaboration and reduced procurement delays.

Construction Government Policy House Building Nationwide Sureties

Angela Rayner reaffirms commitment to 1.5 million new homes

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to delivering 1.5 million new homes during the current Parliament, insisting she will not abandon one of Labour’s flagship housing pledges despite mounting economic and construction challenges.

Speaking after Prime Minister Andy Burnham placed housing at the heart of his new administration’s agenda, Rayner acknowledged the scale of the task but stressed that the target remains unchanged: “1.5m homes is a difficult target. It was when I made the target, but I’m going to keep the target, and I’m not going to be defeated.”

The comments come as the Government seeks to accelerate housebuilding through planning reforms, increased investment in affordable housing and a renewed emphasis on council house construction, with Burnham promising the largest council housebuilding programme since the post-war era.

Housing target remains central to Government plans

The commitment to build 1.5 million homes has been a cornerstone of Labour’s housing strategy, but recent figures have highlighted the scale of the challenge.

Higher construction costs, labour shortages, elevated borrowing costs and slower-than-expected housing completions have all raised questions over whether the target can realistically be achieved within the parliamentary term. Rayner herself has acknowledged that rising build costs have made the objective even harder to reach, although she has rejected suggestions that ministers are preparing to abandon it.

Alongside maintaining the target, Rayner has ruled out introducing rent controls, arguing that increasing housing supply remains the most effective long-term solution to improving affordability.

Construction industry welcomes ambition but calls for further action

The construction and housebuilding sectors have broadly welcomed the Government’s determination to increase housing delivery but warn that planning reform alone will not be enough.

The Home Builders Federation said the return of Rayner as Housing Secretary provides continuity and welcomed the Government’s commitment to housing. However, it stressed that wider barriers must also be addressed, including planning delays, viability issues, infrastructure investment, workforce shortages and the availability of development finance if the industry is to deliver homes at the required pace.

Industry experts have repeatedly highlighted shortages of skilled tradespeople, including bricklayers, electricians and plumbers, alongside supply chain pressures and rising material costs, as significant constraints on increasing housing output. These challenges have become more acute following several years of inflation across the construction sector.

Many developers also argue that greater certainty around planning decisions, faster approvals and continued support for affordable housing are essential to unlock new developments.

Housing sector backs renewed council housebuilding

Construction industry welcomes Burnham’s housing and skills ambitions — Official Portrait. Image: GOV UK

The Government’s renewed focus on council housing has been welcomed across much of the housing sector.

Responding to Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s pledge to expand council housebuilding, Gavin Smart, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said:“Andy Burnham’s speech rightly puts housing at the centre of the national debate, recognising that a safe, secure home underpins people’s life chances and the country’s economic success. The focus on large-scale council housebuilding reflects the urgency of the housing crisis, but delivering on this ambition will require sustained investment and a whole-sector effort.

“CIH will continue to work with government, local authorities, housing associations and partners across the sector to help turn this ambition into reality – delivering the homes people need and the foundations for healthier, fairer and more prosperous communities.”

The Chartered Institute of Housing has consistently argued that increasing the supply of affordable and social housing is critical to reducing homelessness, easing pressure on temporary accommodation and improving long-term economic productivity.

Balancing ambition with reality

While many within the housing and construction sectors support the Government’s ambition, most agree that delivery will require far more than political commitment alone.

The industry continues to call for sustained investment in infrastructure, expanded skills training, greater certainty for developers and long-term planning reform to enable local authorities and housebuilders to accelerate delivery.

Burnham has pledged to publish a wider 10-year plan for Britain later this year, with housing expected to remain a central pillar of the Government’s economic growth strategy. The Prime Minister has also made ending rough sleeping and expanding council housing early priorities of his administration.

For construction firms, developers and housing providers, Rayner’s latest comments provide reassurance that the Government remains committed to its headline housing pledge. However, with completions still well below the level required to meet the target, the coming years will determine whether planning reforms, investment and industry collaboration can translate political ambition into homes on the ground.

Construction Government Policy Nationwide Sureties

Construction industry welcomes Andy Burnham’s housing and skills ambitions

The UK construction industry has broadly welcomed Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s commitment to a major council house building programme and a renewed focus on technical education, while stressing that success will depend on long-term investment, planning reform and tackling persistent skills shortages.

In his first speech outside 10 Downing Street, Burnham pledged to “build more council homes”, overhaul the education system to help more young people into work, continue devolving power “to every postcode in the land”, re-industrialise parts of the country left behind since the 1980s and publish a new 10-year plan for Britain later this year. He also promised immediate measures to ease the cost-of-living crisis and give households “some breathing space”.

For the construction sector, the speech offered a strong indication that housebuilding, skills and regional investment will sit at the heart of the new government’s economic agenda.

Burnham’s commitment to expanding council housing echoes proposals he outlined during his Labour leadership campaign, where he described plans for the biggest council house building programme since the post-war era. His wider vision includes making greater use of public land, strengthening British supply chains through public procurement and creating stronger links between technical education and industry.

The emphasis on vocational education has also been welcomed across construction, an industry that continues to face acute labour shortages. Burnham said the education system would place greater emphasis on helping young people into work while improving mental health support, signalling a move towards greater parity between academic and technical routes. His approach is widely expected to build on the Skills Bootcamps introduced under Sir Keir Starmer’s government.

Industry commentators believe a stronger pipeline of skilled workers could help address one of construction’s biggest challenges. Employers have consistently warned that shortages of bricklayers, carpenters, electricians, plumbers and site managers remain one of the biggest barriers to increasing housing delivery and infrastructure investment.

Reaction from across the sector has been cautiously optimistic. Industry publication PBC Today noted that while Burnham’s speech contained relatively few policy details, his commitment to building more council homes and reforming education represented encouraging signals for construction. It added that expanding technical education and potentially extending Skills Bootcamps could further strengthen recruitment into the industry.

However, many organisations are now looking beyond the rhetoric and awaiting greater detail. The promised 10-year plan, expected later this year, is likely to be closely scrutinised by developers, contractors, housing associations and local authorities seeking clarity over funding, planning reform and procurement.

The proposed devolution of power has also generated interest across the sector. Burnham pledged to continue transferring decision-making away from Westminster and into local communities, arguing that growth is best delivered locally rather than through centralised government. For construction businesses, greater local control over housing, infrastructure and regeneration could accelerate decision-making and allow investment to better reflect regional priorities.

Similarly, Andy Burnham’s ambition to re-industrialise areas that have struggled since the 1980s could create significant opportunities for construction firms involved in manufacturing facilities, industrial estates, transport infrastructure and energy projects. His commitment to favour British industry through public procurement may also provide additional opportunities for domestic construction supply chains.

The government’s focus on reducing living costs has indirect implications for the industry as well. If successful, measures to improve affordability and increase housing supply could stimulate demand across the residential construction market while supporting wider economic confidence.

Nevertheless, analysts have cautioned that delivering a large-scale council house programme will not be straightforward. Rising construction costs, planning constraints, limited availability of development land and continuing skills shortages all present significant challenges. Recent analysis has questioned whether the proposed investment alone would be sufficient to deliver housing at the scale suggested without broader planning and private sector reforms.

The coming months will therefore be critical. Construction businesses are expected to welcome the government’s clear recognition of housing and skills as national priorities, but they will also be looking for practical measures to support delivery.

If Andy Burnham’s forthcoming 10-year strategy combines sustained investment, planning reform, expanded technical education and genuine devolution of power, it could provide the construction industry with the long-term certainty it has sought for many years.

For now, the sector appears encouraged by the direction of travel. The challenge facing the new Prime Minister will be turning ambitious commitments on housing, education and regional growth into projects that can be delivered on the ground.

Government Policy Homes England House Building Nationwide Sureties

MP’s call for the use of historic buildings as homes

A hard-hitting new report from Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee has warned that the UK’s approach to protecting its built heritage is “failing miserably”, as leaking roofs, crumbling brickwork and vacant premises continue to blight historic buildings across the country.

Published on 13 July 2026, Protecting Built Heritage is the result of an 18-month inquiry into the funding, planning and workforce challenges facing the UK’s historic environment, from listed buildings and places of worship to industrial heritage and conservation areas. The committee received 113 written submissions and held five oral evidence sessions with heritage charity leaders, architects, church officials, local authorities and government ministers.

https://depositphotos.com/portfolio-60530558.html?content=photo

The report’s headline finding is stark: Historic England estimates that up to 670,000 homes could be delivered by bringing vacant or under-used historic buildings back into residential use, equivalent to almost half the government’s target of 1.5 million new homes by 2029. Yet the committee found this potential remains largely untapped, with reuse still treated as an afterthought rather than a priority in housing and planning policy.

“A Deep Complacency”: The Chair’s Verdict

Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of the CMS Committee, did not mince her words when the report was published. “Old buildings and other pieces of our past play a vital economic, social and cultural role in our communities, but the sight of leaking roofs, crumbling brickwork and vacant premises illustrates how the current policy approach to heritage is failing miserably to support either its protection or potential,” she said.

She went further, criticising the government’s ambition on housing: “Historic England says that there is potential to create a whopping 670,000 new homes and yet the government’s approach reveals a deep complacency, is devoid of ambition, and shows a complete lack of imagination.”

She called for a fundamental shift in mindset, arguing that “‘reuse first’ should be the guiding principle, with a heritage to housing scheme offering a clear win-win by preserving our historic buildings and helping to meet the pressing need for new homes.” She also pressed ministers to address funding gaps and the skills shortage that is undermining the sector’s ability to carry out repairs.

Dame Caroline reserved particular criticism for double standards in how public and private heritage assets are treated, noting that “it also shouldn’t be right that private owners face significant obligations to protect historic buildings, while government departments are able to allow heritage assets to rot at public expense.” She warned that continued deterioration risked “not just links to our past but… opportunities for economic growth and regeneration in our communities.”

Learning from Italy’s €1 Homes Scheme

Among the report’s central recommendations is a call for a UK “heritage-to-housing” scheme modelled partly on international examples, most notably Italy’s much-publicised €1 homes initiative, which sells historic properties cheaply on condition that new owners restore them.

Tanya Szendeffy, Senior Conservation and Design Officer for Lewes and Eastbourne Councils, told the inquiry that a similar approach could be adapted for British conditions, suggesting “a company could be formed between local government and the developer which would ideally be the local community who can then rent etc to whomever they wish.” The committee acknowledged the Italian scheme has not been without problems, including heavy renovation costs and speculative purchases, and recommended any UK version include strong safeguards for genuine long-term occupation.

Industry Voices: “The Greenest Architecture Is the Building That Exists”

Witnesses were united in stressing that active use, not preservation in aspic, is the best safeguard for historic buildings. Ben Cowell, Director General of Historic Houses, told the committee “the best protection for a building in the long term is for it to be occupied, used, utilised, lived in and loved.” Camilla Finlay, Director of Clews Architects, made a similar point, observing “our greenest architecture is the building that exists.”

The report also flagged deep concern about the specialist skills pipeline. Emma Squire, co-Chief Executive of Historic England, warned that “76% of heritage construction organisations cannot find people with relevant skills when they go out to market and one in six are turning down work due to skills shortages,” adding that the sector faces an additional 105,000 jobs a year in demand through to 2050 it currently cannot fill.

On funding, the Heritage Alliance told the inquiry that 81 per cent of heritage organisations it surveyed cited a lack of funding as a major concern, with a third ending the last financial year in deficit. Reverend Paula Griffiths, a retired Church of England priest, criticised the closure of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, arguing “without it, the cost of all repair schemes will increase by 20%, whether or not the parish are successful in any grant application.”

VAT, Planning and the Public Estate

The report is also sharply critical of the current VAT regime, which charges 20 per cent on repairs and alterations to listed buildings while new-build construction is largely zero-rated. Witnesses described this as a “catastrophic” burden on major restoration projects, and the committee has urged the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to open formal talks with the Treasury on targeted relief.

MPs were equally scathing about the government’s own record as a custodian of heritage. Responsibility for publicly owned buildings, including former Ministry of Defence sites, is spread across departments with weak oversight and no mechanism to enforce standards, leaving public assets to fall into avoidable disrepair.

On planning, the committee welcomed reforms recognising reuse of vacant buildings as a public benefit, but warned changes may not go far enough to tackle the delays discouraging investment in historic buildings.

What Happens Next

The government is now expected to respond formally to the committee’s recommendations, which include a national dataset on the condition of heritage assets, protected training pathways for endangered heritage crafts, and embedding heritage considerations within the One Public Estate programme. The committee’s message is unambiguous: without urgent reform, the UK risks losing not only irreplaceable pieces of its past, but a substantial opportunity to tackle the housing crisis and drive local economic growth.

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