The National Federation of Builders (NFB) has had several meetings with top government ministers, discussing the challenges facing the SME sector in delivering their target of 1.5 million homes by 2029. A common thread throughout the meetings has been the Government clearly recognising the biggest challenge is the broken planning system, with the NFB continually pushing ideas for reform.

Matthew Pennycook, Minister for Housing and Planning

On October 20 2025, the NFB met with Minister for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook to help develop his strategy on achieving the housing target by removing the one hectare threshold for Medium sized sites of 10 to 49 homes.

Representing the NFB was Mark Wakeford, Chairman of the NFB, Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the NFB and Rico Wojtulewicz, NFB Head of Policy and Market Insight. The NFB gave its one-page report to the Minister, detailing land use on sites of up to 50 homes, and how the Government and others define SMEs.

Rico Wojtulewicz said: “Pennycook was on top of his brief and strongly interested in learning about the challenges industry faces, and listening to our solutions.”

“The meeting was productive and we discussed several concerns, from council tax charged on empty properties, the abuse of planning conditions, deemed discharge for statutory consultees, site allocations in local plans and the value of SMEs in diversification, to workforce capacity and the delivery of reliable new build housing supply.”

The NFB will continue to share more data and recommendations for reform with Pennycook, whilst supporting the Government’s long term housing strategy. The NFB offered a further meeting to discuss these issues with members.

Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government

On October 28 2025, the NFB attended an evening reception with Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government, arranged by pro-housebuilding pressure group ‘Labour YIMBY’.

Other attendees included Naushabah Khan MP and Kevin McKenna MP, two members of parliament who were extremely knowledgeable and passionate about housebuilding, both having knowledge of the sector before becoming MPs.

In his speech, Reed said that his mission to build more homes, and improve reforms, like the Renters’ Rights Act, aim to rebalance the housing market, prevent no-fault evictions and provide tenants with more security.

This fits into his Labour party’s wider message and history of social justice policies, he blamed the previous government for the doubling of rough sleepers and the plight of families in temporary accommodation, mentioning the £39 billion allocated to his department for social and affordable housing.

In terms of his pro-construction message, he told the crowd of his commitment to speeding up planning rules to shorten the time it takes to build homes. He harked back to mass housebuilding in the 1950s and ‘60s which he said led to economic growth, jobs, and opportunities, committing to improving the economy, and “making a decent place to live a reality for everyone”.

Will Dixon, the NFB’s Parliamentary Affairs and Communications Executive, attended and invited Reed to a meeting with NFB members to discuss their solutions to the challenges that he faces in meeting his housing target.