Basingstoke MP Maria Miller, who has campaigned for measures to make the building inspection regime more transparent, has helped to launch a report by the cross-party committee of MPs and construction industry representatives of which she is Vice-Chair.
The All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment has been conducting an inquiry into the quality of workmanship of new housing. The Group’s report, published on 13 July, sets out 10 recommendations to improve the quality of new build housing and to provide consumers with easier and cheaper forms of redress to get problems fixed.
Maria said: “The current system of structural quality checks when a new house is built harks back to a bygone era when most houses were built by local builders whose success was based on their reputation for quality. Today more than half of all houses are built by just 6 national brands.”
“In this report we have taken a hard look at the need to raise the quality of new build housing. The role of the building control inspector is a key part of the process and this report tackles the issue head on, both by recommending a minimum level of compliance inspections, and by giving new home buyers information about the building inspections carried out.”
“Making the building inspector’s report available to people who are buying a new home is an important way of improving transparency, and so drive up quality, and I welcome the fact that, in response to my call for change, the Minister has already indicated that he will act.”