The government’s new £10m MMC taskforce, announced in last month’s Budget, reinforces ministers’ commitment to offsite manufacturing as its chosen means of ramping up housing delivery. We all want progress, but is this over-reliance on “modern methods” well-judged?

My worry is that, in the race to hit targets, policymakers are blatantly putting fashion first. Overlooking tried and tested, traditional on-site construction as a vital component of future strategy is rash to say the least. A smarter move would be to support a wider mix of construction systems, traditional and modern, for the best results.