Sarah Edwards MP has urged the Government to act swiftly on builder licensing, planning delays and the skills crisis – warning that without structural reform, the ambition to build 1.5 million new homes will remain out of reach.
The Tamworth MP, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for SME Housebuilders, made the comments on Series Two of the Federation of Master Builders’ (FMB) Build Up from the Basement podcast.
Addressing the construction skills shortage, Edwards argued that the sector represents one of the most secure career paths available, precisely because it cannot be automated.
“AI can’t actually put bricks together and build a house,” she said. Instead, she called for more agile, site-ready training that gets workers on site faster, pointing to college courses that combine on-site experience with learning as a model the country needs more of.
“There is a huge opportunity for people to a career that isn’t going to be redundant,” she added On the barriers facing small housebuilders, Edwards pointed to planning delays, lack of access to land and prohibitively expensive development finance as the most pressing issues identified through the APPG’s surveys of its approximately 300 member businesses.
She also cited cases where builders had received planning permission only to wait a further two years for highways sign-off, so they were unable to start work in the meantime. The APPG is conducting an access to finance inquiry following evidence that development loans can carry interest rates double or triple the standard bank rate.
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “Sarah Edwards speaks with real authority on the challenges facing small housebuilders. The FMB has long called for mandatory licensing to protect consumers and raise standards across the industry; it is encouraging to hear an MP of her standing make this case so clearly.”