Property industry leaders have urged the new Secretary of State for Housing to continue the good work of his predecessor in raising the profile of the sector.
James Brokenshire was announced as the new secretary of state to replace Sajid Javid, who was named the Home Secretary following the resignation of Amber Rudd.
Leaders from across all spheres of the industry encouraged Mr Brokenshire to hit the ground running and get on with implementing measures that were highlighted in last year’s housing white paper.
Melanie Leech, chief executive at the British Property Federation, said: “While it is disappointing to lose Sajid Javid from housing, we welcome James Brokenshire and look forward to working with him to drive forward the government’s multi-tenure approach to new housing delivery and the policy changes to the National Planning Policy Framework.”
According to Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, the appointment comes at a “crucial time for the sector”.
He added: “We hope that Brokenshire will build on Javid’s good work, both in terms of raising the profile of housing as an issue at cabinet level and implementing some sound policies aimed at tackling the housing shortage.
“Last year’s housing white paper and the November Budget statement that followed have given us a blueprint for change, but now we need to get on and do it. We stand ready to help Brokenshire deliver the 300,000 new homes per year needed in England alone.”
Michael Dean, principal at Avamore Capital, said that while the government could say it was taking housing seriously, its actions had yet to back up their claims.
“There’s no accountability when targets are missed because whoever was responsible for those targets would have moved into another position in government,” he added.
