12th June 2026
The Office for National Statistics reports that total construction output in Great Britain rose by 1.6% in the three months to April 2026, marking a second consecutive quarterly increase. The monthly picture for April was much flatter. Output rose 0.1%, driven entirely by repair and maintenance while new work fell 0.3% in the month.
What the numbers mean for housing delivery
The headline three‑month growth masks an important composition effect. Repair and maintenance is the main positive contributor, growing strongly over the quarter, whereas new housing work is not keeping pace and actually fell in April. That pattern matters because meeting government housing targets depends on sustained increases in new work activity the kind of sustained pipeline that translates into completed homes rather than short‑term repairs.
The ONS release also flags a data issue in the public housing new‑work series going back to 2022, which raises the level of output by about 1.2% from January 2022 onwards and complicates simple year‑on‑year comparisons for public housing.
How this reflects on government housing targets
Taken together, the ONS figures suggest a mixed outlook for the government’s housebuilding ambitions. On one hand, the construction sector is not collapsing — three‑month output is positive — but on the other hand the reliance on repair and maintenance rather than new housing work implies the sector is not yet shifting into the higher‑volume, new‑build mode that targets require.
Because the ONS monthly series shows new work falling in April, policymakers should be cautious about claiming momentum toward delivery targets until a sustained rise in new‑work orders and starts is visible. The data error in public housing further means ministers and analysts must treat short‑term movements in the public housing series with care while revisions are implemented.
Practical implications for ministers and planners
If the government wants to close the gap between ambition and delivery it will need to focus on the pipeline that creates new homes: planning approvals, availability of skilled labour, materials and supply‑chain resilience, and incentives that convert developer capacity from repairs into new‑build projects.
The ONS bulletin underlines that headline growth alone is not enough; the type of construction activity determines whether housing targets are likely to be met. Given the current mix, expect continued pressure on housing targets unless new‑work orders pick up and the public housing series is clarified by forthcoming revisions.
Construction output is modestly positive over three months, but the monthly fall in new work and the prominence of repair and maintenance weaken the case that the sector is on a clear path to deliver the volumes of new homes the government wants. Analysts and ministers should watch new‑orders data and the ONS’s corrected public housing series closely before drawing firm conclusions.
Read the full ONS report HERE