Invest in housebuilding to kickstart economy says CBI

BUSINESS group CBI North West is calling on the government to “kickstart confidence” by boosting the housing market in next week’s budget.

CBI’s North West director Damian Waters argues that housing should form the main focus of George Osborne’s budget as the Government comes under pressure to do more to boost growth, but without borrowing more.

The CBI wants to see measures to help first and second-time buyers, support for householders refurbishing homes and for smaller housebuilders struggling to access finance.

Such proposals should form part of a fiscally-neutral budget which would shift £2.2bn from current spending to high-growth areas.

This would include £1.25bn on capital investment – including housing – and £950m on high-growth business tax measures, such as a 2% cap on the planned increase in business rates and the removal of Stamp Duty on equity finance for mid-sized companies.

Mr Waters said: “The Government must stick to its fiscal plan but now is the time to kickstart confidence. Our measures will provide another boost for the housing market and will benefit first-time buyers, those trapped in negative equity and those looking to refurbish their homes.

“To boost the construction sector, we are calling for 50,000 new affordable homes to be built, incentives for refurbishing empty homes and the housing guarantee scheme to be extended to all types of housing.

“We must supercharge the NewBuy scheme to allow second-time buyers struggling to get on the next rung of the property ladder. With its relatively short lead-in times, house building offers the most bang-for-buck in growth terms – unleashing pent-up demand, while creating jobs and growth.”

The CBI North West is also calling for spending on road infrastructure and repairs to be brought forward as well as more support for exporters and for smaller firms struggling to access finance.