Burnham’s Council-Housing Push Confronts a Brexit-Induced Skills Shortage

Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced a £10 billion package to deliver 70 000 new homes across England, with at least 60 percent earmarked for social-rented council housing. The funding draws on the £39 billion Social and Affordable Housing Programme (SAHP) agreed under the previous administration and forms part of the government’s target to build 1.5 million homes by 2030. “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.” — Andy Burnham, prime minister

The IndependentBurnham’s council housing pledge falls short The Independent

Industry leaders say the pledge collides with a shortage of skilled construction workers that Brexit has amplified. Checkatrade’s UK Trade Skills Index estimates that more than 200 000 EU-origin workers have left the construction sector since 2019. The Office for National Statistics reported 31 000 construction vacancies between May and July of this year, a 2.3 percent rise on the same period last year.

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Clive Dickin, chief executive of the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation, warned of a forecast shortfall of 40 000 scaffolders over the next five years. He described Brexit and Covid as a “perfect storm” that forced many qualified scaffolders to leave and made return difficult under the new immigration rules.

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The Skills Training Group’s analysis shows a 35 percent decline in bricklayers, a 23 percent drop in plasterers, an 18 percent reduction in painters and decorators, and a 17 percent fall in carpenters and joiners since 2005. A Federation of Master Builders survey found that 72 percent of respondents said a lack of skilled tradespeople was affecting their projects.

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Overall, the sector estimates a need for roughly 1 million additional workers over the next decade, including 206 000 new hires by 2030 to meet projected demand.

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The shortage has already disrupted delivery. Half of the firms experiencing skill gaps reported job delays, and 22 percent said vacancies forced outright cancellations. Places for People warned that over 140 000 job vacancies are stalling essential housing and infrastructure projects, and that 250 000 new apprenticeships are required to close the gap.

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• Burnham’s own words (verbatim quote above) stress confidence in council-led delivery.

Burnham’s council housing pledge falls short

• Marley Morris, associate director for migration, trade and communities at the Institute of Public Policy for the Regions, linked the shortage directly to Brexit, noting that the end of free movement was only temporarily mitigated by a liberal migration policy and that recent tightening has deepened the problem.

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The government plans to allocate an additional £46 million to local authorities over the next three years to develop their own building capacity. The upcoming Budget in October is expected to address financing for council-owned housing, including proposals to lower loan rates for councils from current 4-5 percent levels to around 0.1 percent. Funding for the £625 million construction-worker programme and the £1.2 billion skills package will be rolled out throughout the 2026-2029 period.

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• “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.” — Andy Burnham, prime minister

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