AN INCREASING number of British building sites will rely on skilled foreign workers after it emerged shortages of bricks and bricklayers threaten future house building plans.

An investigation by construction bosses found some firms are having to wait up to eight months for vital trade materials, as suppliers struggle to keep pace with rising demand.

Brian Berry, chief executive at the Federation of Master Builders, voiced concerns after the FMB's latest survey showed half of small, local construction firms are finding it difficult to recruit bricklayers, and almost two thirds are waiting for up to eight weeks for new brick orders.

He added: "An additional 16 per cent are waiting for a staggering six to eight months. The brick manufacturers are working hard to reignite their kilns which were mothballed during the recession.
"However, in the meantime, let’s make sure small local house builders are not overlooked in favour of large house builders when it comes to manufacturers meeting requests for new bricks.”

His comments followed last week's announcement by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors that almost half of the region's construction leaders cite labour shortages as a problem that dogs the industry. At the turn of the year it was revealed that building firms had to hire bricklayers from Portugal, paying them £1,000 a week, because of a shortage of UK workers. The ongoing issue is a reversal of the labour crisis highlighted by North-East drama Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, which featured British migrant brickies seeking jobs overseas. 

Mr Berry said yesterday: “In terms of skills, the ever-growing lack of bricklayers is causing concern. Compared to this time one year ago, more than twice the firms are reporting difficulties recruiting these tradespeople. In the short term, many SME house builders may have to rely on migrant labour."

Mr Berry added: "To ensure we have an ample supply of skilled workers in the future, the next Government must ensure it sets the right framework in terms of apprenticeship funding and apprenticeship standards. Also more construction firms – large and small – need to willingly engage with training. After all, there’s strong evidence to suggest that training apprentices is good for business."

Commenting on the results of the FMB’s latest State of Trade Survey for the first three months of the year, Mr Berry said: "How to solve the housing crisis has been one of the hot topics during this General Election campaign and we welcome the renewed focus on house building by all the main parties.

"Although each party has its own distinct plans for how the next Government should boost house building, all of them agree it must be a priority. However, the results of our latest State of Trade Survey expose continuing threats which could undermine their plans."

Ed Miliband used an event in Stockton this morning to outline Labour's housing plans. The Labour leader called for urgent action to tackle low house-building levels and falling home ownership.

Under Labour's plans, local residents would get first choice on up to half of new homes in their area for a time.

The Conservatives said Labour's plans were unfunded and they had cut stamp duty for most people since 2010.