CIC presents Housing Minister with Offsite Housing Review Report

Graham Watts OBE, Chief Executive of the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and Professor Nick Whitehouse of Oxford Brookes University, today presented the Housing Minister, Mark Prisk MP, with CIC’s Offsite Housing Review report, at a launch held at the £100m Laing O’Rourke Explore Plant in Steetley, Nottinghamshire, which is leading the way in British off-site manufacturing. Download the report. The Construction Industry Council was commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to undertake a Review to consider and make recommendations to Industry and to Government on the contribution which the off-site construction sector can make to increase the delivery of more homes and how the increased use of off-site construction can be incentivised in England. A Review Panel and research team was established under the joint Chairmanship of Professor John Miles (Arup/Royal Academy of Engineering Professor of Transitional Energy Strategies, University of Cambridge) and Professor Nick Whitehouse and several workshops were held for key groups including house builders, product manufacturers, local authorities and housing associations. They reviewed the housing market in England and examined the potential for offsite construction methods to play a more significant role in the house-building industry of the future. When examining their findings, the Review Panel identified three themes for Industry and for Government to consider: 1. Incentivise: Taking Fiscal and Taxation Measures * introduce tax and other incentives designed to encourage the development of new products and the establishment of new manufacturing/assembly facilities 2. Provide Market Confidence: Strengthening the Delivery Framework * create a stable and predictable framework for regulations and standards * release ‘oven ready’ plots from Government and Local Authority land banks * create an effective communications programme 3. Secure the Future: Setting Policy and Making Investments * raise awareness and capability in BIM * establish an Institute for Future Housing Research * develop a New Financial and Delivery Model for Housing In all three cases the Review Panel suggests that joint Treasury/Industry working groups be established to investigate how best to tackle these recommendations. Graham Watts OBE, CIC Chief Executive said: _“CIC has welcomed the opportunity to manage the Review and congratulates the joint chairs and their whole project team for delivering an excellent report with significant intellectual rigour, within a comparatively short timescale but nevertheless with significant opportunity for input from all the major stakeholder groupings. Their recommendations are well considered and backed by a weight of detailed analysis and evidence. CIC members will consider the report formally at a meeting of the Council on 20 March. We are enthusiastic about continuing to provide an independent cross-industry platform for developing and monitoring the implementation of the recommendations”_.