Skip to main content

House building contributes £19.2 billion/year to the UK economy

World Cement,


A report released by the Home Builders Federation (HBF), with research conducted by Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners, provides a picture of the contribution that the house building industry makes to the UK. According to the report, the house building industry:

  • Supports 600 000 jobs.
  • Contributes £19.2 billion/year to the UK economy.
  • Spends £5.5 billion with suppliers, 90% of which stays in the UK.
  • Generates £1.4 billion/year in tax revenues for the Exchequer.
  • Provides 32 000 affordable homes – worth £2.3 billion – built or financed by private house building with a further £1 billion paid to local authorities as a contribution to more affordable housing.
  • Pays £576 million towards community facilities.
  • Generates a £3.8 billion spend in local shops and services.

According to the HBF, only around half of the required 240 000 homes/year are being built. The report has found that if a further 100 000 homes/year were constructed, it would lead to:

  • 430 000 extra jobs.
  • A further £11.9 billion in economic output.
  • More than 20 000 affordable homes.
  • £2.7 billion for additional community benefits, including affordable homes, education, health and open spaces.
  • More than £1 billion in additional tax revenue, including £128 million for local authorities in the form of Council Tax to fund improved local services.

The report comes ahead of the UK’s general election (May 2015), at a time when the house building sector is calling on parties to prioritise policies that would allow for a rise in the number of homes to be built. The HBF has also published ‘Building Communities, Growing the Economy,’ which outlines a plan for boosting housing supply.

“House building makes a huge largely hidden social and economic contribution to the UK,” commented Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman of the HBF. “Whilst housing output has increased, we are still not delivering anywhere near what is needed. As well as delivering desperately needed new homes, increasing housing supply would deliver significant additional benefits. House building is a huge employer both directly and through supplier companies.”

The full report can be found here.


Adapted from press release by

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/25032015/hbf-report-into-house-building-industry-in-the-uk-576/

You might also like

 
 

Embed article link: (copy the HTML code below):