Admission comes weeks after MPs warned housebuilding targets will be missed if MMC not fully exploited
The government has admitted it has not “comprehensively” assessed the cost, environmental or build time impact of using modern methods of construction (MMC) to build new homes.
In a written answer to a question from Colleen Fletcher, Labour MP and opposition whip, the housing minister Kit Malthouse said research into “particular topics may include consideration of MMC, if relevant to the subject of the research”, but that a comprehensive assessment had not been carried out on such impacts.
The minister said it was “well recognised that new technology and innovation has improved productivity, quality and choice across a range of sectors and we are keen to see the same happen in housing”.
Earlier this month an influential committee of MPs warned the government it was in danger of missing its target of 300,000 homes being built every year by the middle of the next decade due to an “over-reliance” on traditional construction techniques.
Following months of hearings, a report written by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, headed by Labour MP Clive Betts, urged the government to unlock the technology’s potential in order to build homes more quickly, more cheaply, while maintaining build quality.
Malthouse said there was “an opportunity for housebuilders to embrace MMC and take advantage of new technologies to deliver good quality new-build homes more quickly, with the potential to deliver more energy efficient homes to buyers, improve site efficiencies and reduce waste.
He said the government’s MMC working group was looking at addressing barriers to assurance, insurance and finance for homes built using MMC.
“The group has been exploring a range of opportunities to increase confidence in homes manufactured using these methods to support the uptake of off-site manufacturing technologies across the housing market,” Malthouse added.
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