Housing: Modern Methods of Construction

Baroness Wheatcroft Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wheatcroft (CB)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, for his introduction to the debate, and the Committee on the Built Environment for its hard work on this important issue. Clearly, MMC is the way ahead for building, and it has been for a long time. Given the climate in this country, apart from anything else, getting as much done as possible under the cover of a factory makes sense. But, as we have heard today, there are many obstacles to making this the way in which so much building should be done.

The noble Lord, Lord Best, outlined three areas where the Government could move quite quickly to make a difference. I would add another area, and that is public confidence. There was always a potential problem over the image of prefabricated housing, but gradually that has changed. Not everybody had quite the romantic view of the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, but now prefab houses—HUF HAUS, in particular—have become much sought after. Now the biggest problem will be public confidence in modern methods of building, which will be at an all-time low after the publication of the latest Grenfell inquiry report.

I second the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, in looking for a replacement for the Building Research Establishment. The Grenfell report dismissed the BRE as

“marred by unprofessional conduct, inadequate practices, a lack of effective oversight, poor reporting and a lack of scientific rigour”.

Who is going to feel comfortable being asked to buy, or live in, a property that has been overseen by such an organisation? Can the Minister assure us today that the Building Research Establishment will no longer have a role in establishing what materials are safe and what properties are okay for people to live in?