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Construction industry bodies have issued a mixed reaction to the autumn statement鈥檚 news on housing, with some praising the focus on right-to-buy, and others claiming George Osborne has missed opportunities to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and first-time buyers.

Brian Berry, director of external affairs at the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), said: 鈥淭he government is in a very tight financial position but there are a number of measures that the Chancellor could have taken today which would have had significant economic benefits for little, if any direct cost, by extending existing policies and delaying the introduction of others.

鈥淚n addition to making more credit available at reasonable rates, as they have already committed to doing, the government should have extended the stamp duty holiday for first time buyers for property transactions under 拢250,000, which expires in April, to help get the housing market moving again.

鈥淚t could also have reduced the burdens on SME house-builders by providing a blanket exemption from the soon-to-be-implemented Community Infrastructure Levy, which will add around 拢43,000 to the cost of building a two bedroom house in some parts of the country.  

鈥淭he government also missed an opportunity to delay implementation of its 鈥榸ero carbon homes鈥� policy until the housing market has recovered sufficiently to support the extra costs.鈥�

David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, claimed the government had 鈥渓argely ignored鈥� house-building, despite its potential to deliver 鈥渢he biggest bang for the taxpayers鈥� buck鈥�.

He said: 鈥淎 public investment of 拢1bn - matched by 拢8bn from housing associations - would build 66,000 shared ownership homes for people on low to middle incomes, create 400,000 jobs and in doing so save the taxpayer 拢700m in job seeker鈥檚 allowance, not to mention the added savings from housing benefit and increased tax revenues.

鈥満蒙�先生TV affordable housing is a win/win for the taxpayer. Not only does it provide homes for people stuck on waiting lists at the lowest cost to the public purse but it also creates, jobs, supports small businesses and gives the economy a quick shot in the arm with a speed and effectiveness no other industry can match.鈥�

However, the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) praised the government鈥檚 plan to re-invest money from new right-to-buy sales in the construction of new affordable housing, calling it a positive move that would strengthen growth in the economy. 

ACE chief executive Nelson Ogunshakin OBE, said: 鈥淐onstruction led the economy out of recession after the credit crunch. Since then financial constraints have seen the sector slip into a double dip recession, with affordable housing build starts falling to just 454 in the latest quarter.

鈥淭he government鈥檚 plans for new investment will help to strengthen employment, drive economic growth and provide a sustainable source of funding for house building across the country.鈥�