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CHAPTER 5
Improving Housebuilding

Potential for Change

77. In support of the Task Force's work programme and as part of a wider programme of meetings to test our thinking, the Housing Corporation organised seminars to which representatives of some of the major housing associations and housing construction companies were invited.They offered a useful opportunity to assess the potential for radical change. These events highlighted:

• an enthusiasm amongst both housing associations, as clients, and contractors for the pursuit of greater efficiency and quality;
• the vital influence of clients over the performance of the housebuilding industry. Well informed, demanding clients who know what they want and how much they are prepared to pay for it, and are able to specify their requirements clearly, are an essential pre-requisite to the achievement of a modern, efficient, world-class housebuilding industry;
• the belief that sustained improvement in the industry can only be achieved if rigorous targets are set and performance measured on a consistent basis;
• the fact that to achieve step improvements in innovation, standardisation of components and cost efficiency, more can be achieved by co-operation between clients, constructors and suppliers than through competition.

A Housing Forum

78. The conclusion of these seminars was that a forum of major developing housing associations and the major housebuilding and construction firms could act as the catalyst for change. The Task Force proposes the setting up of such a forum to take forward the agenda. We would see the main objectives of this body to be to bring together those clients, contractors and suppliers committed to performance improvement to:

• agree targets for improvement, performance indicators, and arrangements for data collection, analysis and dissemination;
• establish principles for commissioning and evaluating innovative demonstration projects and disseminating good practice;
• simplify procurement processes, streamline supply chains and standardise component linkages;
• encourage long term partnering arrangements between clients and providers to secure consistency, continuity, innovation and value for money.

Government Support

79. Although it would be for the members of the forum to agree a way forward, pro-active support and encouragement from Government will also be essential. The Task Force sees this as taking three forms:

• pump priming contributions to support a secretariat for the forum. We feel that DETR and the Housing Corporation should partly support the secretariat costs of the forum, alongside membership fees from client and construction companies;
• capital funding for demonstration projects. The government should establish within the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme an allocation for demonstration projects. We suggest £10 million. This, when matched with private finance will support a programme of innovative development totalling some £20 million per annum;
• prioritising those investment projects offering improved value for money. In the longer term if the forum is successful, it should result in a range of lower cost, more innovative,better value homes. These should routinely receive high priority in the allocation of future public investment, thereby reinforcing the impetus for continuous improvement.

80. Housebuilders and their clients need to share experience of innovation. However, the key ingredient for success in achieving significant improvements in the quality and efficiency of housebuilding will be the commitment of those involved. In this housebuilding shares the same ground as the rest of UK construction.

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