UK 'doesn't have enough builders' for Labour's 1.5m homes

Tens of thousands of new recruits are needed for bricklaying, groundworks and carpentry to get anywhere near the target, they told the BBC.

The Home Builders Federation (HBF), along with the UK's largest housebuilder Barratt Redrow said skills shortages, ageing workers and Brexit were some of the factors behind the shrinking workforce.

The government confirmed there was a "dire shortage" of construction workers but said it was "taking steps to rectify" the problem.

Last week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer repeated the pledge he made soon after taking power to deliver 1.5 million new homes in England by 2029.

And on Thursday he unveiled sweeping changes to the planning system and vowed to override "blockers" standing in the way of building the new homes.

Labour hopes building more homes will reduce house prices and make buying and renting homes more affordable, especially for younger people.

Its target means building an average of 300,000 new homes a year - in recent years the number has been about 220,000.

The current workforce is estimated to be 2.67 million, according to the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).

But for every 10,000 new homes to be built, the sector needs about 30,000 new recruits across 12 trades, according to the HBF, the trade body for the house building industry in England and Wales.

Based on the government's plans, the estimated number of new workers required for some common trades, for example, would be:

The HBF said while the industry had "the capacity to deliver current build levels, tens of thousands of new people will need to be recruited if we are to reach the targets set out".

When asked if there were enough workers currently to build the extra homes, David Thomas, chief executive of Barratt Redrow, said: "The short answer is no."

He told the BBC the government would have to "revolutionise the market, revolutionise planning, revolutionise methods of production" for their target to be met.

"They're challenging targets, I think we have to recognise that this is a national crisis," Mr Thomas said.

But the HBF also said the UK "does not have a sufficient talent pipeline" of builders to employ. It cited several recruitment constraints, including a poor perception and lack of training within schools, not enough apprenticeships and the costs of taking on apprentices.

The industry body admitted the sector itself had not "attracted" enough new recruits in recent years.

All of these factors over time has resulted in an ageing workforce, with a quarter of workers being aged over 50, it said.