Housing Minister Kris Hopkins yesterday hailed the Help to Buy scheme as responsible for a recent surge of business in the construction sector.

Mr Hopkins met local workers and the site manager at Ibstock Brick’s Chesterton factory, and said the impact of the Help to Buy scheme was keeping kilns firing over Christmas for the first time since 2007.

“Help to Buy has not only helped thousands of hard-working families get on the housing ladder, it’s also laid the foundations for a recovery in housebuilding, and confounded the critics who claimed it would have no impact on the supply of new homes,” said Mr Hopkins.

“I’m delighted to be in Newcastle-under-Lyme today to see how this is delivering a boost for brick makers. Enough bricks will be made in 2013 to go nine times round the earth or build 28 St Pancras stations, and I’m hoping next year we’ll make enough to reach the moon.

“It’s been great to see Ibstock’s state-of-the-art factory and meet with workers who are ramping up production and, for the first time in years, keeping the factory running over the Christmas period to catch up with orders and help get Britain building again.”

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation, added: “Help to Buy is driving a big increase in housebuilding activity. If people can buy, builders will build. Existing sites are being built out quicker and developers are looking to start on new ones sooner. As a result, there is an increased demand for labour and materials and we are seeing the supply chain respond. The increase in housebuilding activity is creating jobs both directly on site and indirectly in the supply chain.”