PM hosts business crisis talks

The Prime Minister was joined by housing minister Margaret Beckett for a breakfast meeting in Downing Street with industry leaders, including from the Home Builders Federation, the Federation of Master Builders and the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Construction has been one of the hardest-hit sectors as the UK heads for a recession, with building projects grinding to a halt and workers being laid off. The housing market has also suffered a dramatic downturn.

Mr Brown told the meeting: "We know how difficult the circumstances you face are. We recognise the importance of your industry and what you do and its impact on the whole of the economy.

"We all recognise we are in exceptional times, that the financial system and the banking system has been in crisis for several months. The flow of money is not how it should be and that is affecting confidence in the economy."

He said the Government was still discussing with the banks how to ensure "proper funding" and added that all countries were facing similar problems. He said that during the meeting he wanted to discuss measures taken in the Pre-budget Report as well as those taken over the previous three months.

He said: "We've taken a number of initiatives in relation to housing but are ready to look at more."

These initiatives included the guarantee of more investment in social housing, and trying to protect people in danger of falling into arrears. "We are trying to encourage the mortgage industry back into business," he said.

He added: "In Britain our problem is a bit different to the US, Spain and other European countries."

He said the problem in this country was not that we had overbuilt but "the question has been the affordability of housing".