The government has been urged to take meaningful action to set its strategy for supporting innovative construction methods.
The call came after the ministry of housing, communities and local government revealed officials are still considering next steps.
A spokesperson told Construction News that the government “recognised the role of MMC in delivering its promise to 1.5 million homes”.
The update came despite continuing delays in the department issuing a formal response to a review of the modern methods of construction (MMC) strategy by a House of Lords select committee that dates back to the start of the year.
Peers on the built environment committee held an inquiry into MMC in the wake of several high-profile failures in the sector, criticising the government’s “undirected and nonstrategic” investments in MMC in its report at the end of January.
Committee chair Lord Moylan asked the previous ministerial team to respond to its recommendations within the standard six week time period. Then-housing minister Lee Rowley wrote back in March to ask for an extension, promising to respond by “late spring”.
That commitment was interrupted by the general election.
Peers had also asked the government to publish its full MMC strategy by the end of March 2024 after casting doubt on whether it existed.
Moylan wrote that the committee had “limited confidence that a coherent plan to encourage the use of MMC is in place”, a position he described as “very disappointing”, given its importance to delivering the then-government’s housing ambitions.
The sector is currently waiting for decisions from the new government on a host of issues including skills strategy and planning reforms needed to give certainty.
There is also now a Whitehall budget review under way to find department savings and funding support for MMC could be cut if a strategy is not in place.
A key figure in the industry is urging the new ministerial team to resolve the lack of clarity.
Christy Hayes, chief executive of volumetric contractor Tide and manufacturer Vision, said he was waiting for the government’s response.
Hayes said the need for meaningful action to stimulate the sector was “critical”, as MMC can provide a significant portion of sustainable and efficient homes to tackle the UK’s housing crisis.
He added: “Volumetric construction, like other areas of the industry, is currently held back by an unpredictable planning and regulatory system.”
“Tide and Vision recently delivered 1,200 homes and have 2,000 more underway, a number that could grow significantly with a timebound planning policy.”
