The CIOB Policy Team Newsletter - February 2023
February with the CIOB Policy tea
Welcome to this edition of CIOB’s policy team newsletter.
This edition includes a link to CIOB’s reaction to the Government’s Developer Contract, information on our new Housing Minister, information on the Building Safety Roadshow as well as our regular regional updates.
If you have anything you would like to share, we would love to hear from you, so please do get in touch at [email protected]
One thing you need...listen to CIOB's Director of Policy, Research and Public Affairs, Eddie Tuttle, speak at PBC Today's webinar on the Future Homes Standard
On 8 February CIOB spoke at PBC Today’s first in a series of free-to-watch webinars that connect expert speakers with a select audience of industry professionals to explore all aspects of the built environment.
These hour-long panel discussions will be a platform to take a deep dive into a chosen subject, to scrutinise, evangelise or criticise.
Eddie Tuttle, CIOB’s Director of Policy, Research and Public Affairs spoke on the upcoming Future Homes Standard 2025.
You can view the recording of the session here.
CIOB reacts to Government’s Developer Remediation Contract announcement
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has written to developers asking them to sign a contract committing them to remediate unsafe buildings which they developed.
Eddie Tuttle, director of policy, external affairs and research at the Chartered Institute of Building, said: “Today’s (30 January) announcement by the Government, which echoes the findings by Dame Judith Hackitt in her independent review of building regulations and fire safety, is one that we very much welcome. The Grenfell Tower fire and the subsequent public inquiry highlighted the consequences of deregulation and paved the way for the Building Safety Act, but it also revealed the extent to which profit was being prioritised over building quality and safety. The CIOB is committed to ensuring our industry learns the lessons of the past and works to ensure those who occupy the buildings we create are safe and feel safe in their homes.”
CIOB comment on Cabinet reshuffle and formation of new government departments
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak MP carried out the first cabinet reshuffle of his leadership on 7 February 2023, including the restructuring of a number of government departments.
Under the reshuffle, Rachel Maclean MP became the sixth person in the past 12 months (or 15th since 2010) to become the housing minister. The changes once again call into question the Government’s commitments to the housing sector given its strategic importance.
Industry groups, such as CIOB, continue to hold concerns about the ability to form meaningful working relationships with the housing minister, given the revolving door nature of the position. Given the Government has re-affirmed its commitment to building 300,000 homes every year by the mid-2020s, surely consistency and long-term planning would be at the forefront of the portfolio holder.
A host of junior ministerial changes and a few notable cabinet-level changes took place, primarily to fulfil the positions of the newly formed government departments, these are:
- The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)
- The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
- The Department for Business and Trade (DBT)
The existing Department for Culture, Media and Sport was also set to be ‘re-focused’ with the former housing minister, Lucy Frazer KC MP taking the reins as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
Further information about Mr Sunak's shuffle can be found here.
Regional Overviews
- Ireland & Northern Ireland
CIOB Ireland’s work in February has centred on external facing engagements, with the dissemination of the policy paper ‘Flipping the Green Switch: Deferring stamp duty on residential retrofit in Ireland’ continuing apace. February also saw industry and government fora reconvening for the first time in 2023, which gave us the opportunity to share our recent work in the sustainability space.
The Building Safety Expert Panel Northern Ireland made had its penultimate meeting and drafted final recommendations for government this month. Joe contributed to the recommendations on behalf of the CIOB, emphasising the importance of resourcing, working with professional bodies on standards and education, and ensuring the appropriate governance arrangements are in place to oversee Northern Ireland’s new Building Safety Regime. The Panel will have its final meeting in March.
The All Party Group on Construction met for the first time since the April 2022 elections. Joe gave an update on recent CIOB activity and was invited to present ‘Flipping the Green Switch: deferring stamp duty on residential retrofit in Ireland’ at the next meeting.
The first event in CIOB’s partnership series with the Construction IT Alliance took place on 8 February. The series – ‘Digital Acceleration for SMEs’ – kicked off with an event in the Chartered Accountants Ireland building in Dublin and covered the resources available for SME’s seeking to make the transition to digital ways of working.
Following discussions on the matter with CIOB, Deputy Emer Higgins TD raised the policy proposal in CIOB’s recent ‘Flipping the Green Switch: deferring stamp duty on residential retrofit in Ireland’ paper with the Minister for Finance.
‘Flipping the Green Switch’ was presented to Belfast City Council’s Chief Climate Commissioner and her team on 21 February. The Commissioner wants to move forward with the proposal and Joe has been invited to present the policy to elected members when they next meet during the summer.
In preparation for an upcoming project being run in partnership with TASC on Modern Methods of Construction in Social Housing, CIOB joined a workshop run by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on 22 February in Trinity College Dublin.
- Scotland
February has been a very positive month for CIOB in Scotland. Engagement with the Scottish Government is on a notable upward trend, with CIOB being approached to participate in various initiatives.
The Cross-Party Group on Construction featured a lively discussion about the importance of apprenticeships in addressing the skills gap in Scotland, with industry partners highlighting current challenges in funding apprenticeship programmes and attracting entrants to the sector. Our monthly Scottish Construction Now article discusses these issues in greater detail; it highlights some of the excellent, industry-led programmes being delivered by CIOB members and industry colleagues to address the skills gap in Scotland.
The recent Cross-Party Group on Housing focused on homelessness and community-led housing. Representatives from community-led housing organisations highlighted several exemplary projects from communities across Scotland, particularly showcasing regenerative retrofit projects. As part of the discussion on the importance of retrofit, CIOB was asked to present our recent demolition levy policy proposals to the group at a future meeting.
CIOB was approached by Pye Tait Consulting to contribute to a piece of research commissioned by the Scottish Government regarding issues facing compliance within the low-rise volume housing sector. Based on insights from CIOB members, we noted challenges within the existing environment and commented on proposed legislative mechanisms.
CIOB has been invited to join the Scottish Government’s Aggregates Tax Bill Advisory Group to explore key issues that have emerged from the Government’s recent consultation paper on a proposed aggregates levy.
- Wales
Continuing positive trends seen elsewhere in the CIOB’s work, February (and the tail end of January) has also been a good month for CIOB in Wales. We attended Welsh Government workshops to discuss the forthcoming Wales Heat Strategy, specifically joining sessions on networks and infrastructure and how to better incentivise homeowners and occupiers to retrofit their properties.
CIOB attended another edition of the Senedd’s Housing Cross Party Group (CPG), joining discussions on how the planning system in Wales can be better utilised and improved to start to ameliorate housing issues.
We also attended our first Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency CPG, discussing how the construction sector can positively contribute to alleviating fuel poverty in Wales’s housing stock. Following this, we also had meetings with key Third Sector stakeholders to discuss these issues further.
February also saw a comprehensive discussion with CIOB members to update the Real Face of Construction reports in a Welsh context. The results of this will be published later this Spring.
Building Safety Roadshow
At the start of February, CIOB held an event at the University of Wolverhampton to discuss the Building Safety Act with Chartered Building Companies (CBC), Consultancies, Training Partners and business leaders in the sector. Students from the University also joined in with the session to learn more about the changes to legislation.
With quality and safety right at the heart of CIOB’s newly released corporate plan, this was a fantastic update on a subject that is so important to everyone within the built environment. Paul Nash, Past President of the CIOB, a Member of the Industry Safety Steering Group and the Building Advisory Committee, delivered a fact filled overview of the Act along with a view of the current timeline. Eddie Tuttle, CIOB Director of Policy, External Affairs and Research, and Rosalind Thorpe CIOB Director of Education and Standards talked through the meaning of competency and the influence CIOB is having within parliament and the wider built environment. The floor opened up to questions from a very engaged audience and these discussions continued into the networking session.
CIOB would like to thank our speakers and everyone who attended and contributed to the discussions. And a special mention and thank you to our event sponsor Driver Trett and the University of Wolverhampton for hosting the event.
CIOB and the press
There has been coverage across construction trade media of the launch of CIOB’s new Corporate Plan, including in PBC Today, Construction Management, Scottish Construction Now, Facilities Management UK and Fire Safety Matters.
Building Magazine accepted our offer of an interview with Caroline Gumble about the Corporate Plan and her role at CIOB more widely, and the resulting article can be read here. It was also published across four pages of the printed edition of the publication.
CIOB’s Art of Building competition was featured by The Times online including a gallery of all 12 finalists’ photos.
Our January column for Scottish Construction Now was written by CIOB member, Kevin Gibb, and focussed on quality and safety.
PBC Today featured a column on mental health in construction by CIOB’s Daisie Rees Evans. Eddie Tuttle was a member of the expert panel for PBC’s first online webinar on 8 February, which focussed on the Government's Future Homes Standard. It can be heard online here.
Rosalind Thorpe has taken part in an interview with Building Design Mag about education standards, and Mark Harrison was interviewed by Construction Wave about construction’s skills gap. Journalists at both publications approached us for the interviews, which highlights how CIOB’s reputation as industry experts is growing amongst trade media.
Media relations manager, Becky Trotman, has met face to face with journalists from the Daily Telegraph and BBC News to discuss how CIOB can contribute to items including construction, housing, skills shortages and sustainability as examples. She also discussed the upcoming Real Face of Construction report and CIOB’s client support work and how these projects could be pitched to the media.
Coming up in March
March appears to be a busy one at first glance!
Firstly, and most importantly we have Jeremy Hunt’s first budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer as the spring budget (15 March 2023) looms large in the face of continued economic uncertainty. CIOB will be sure to update members on any relevant items from a built environment perspective.
In parliamentary business there are a number of key things to look out for including two Private Members Bills that will be progressing through the House of Commons including the Renewable Liquid Heating Fuel Bill, sponsored by George Eustice MP (former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and the Minimum Energy Performance of Buildings Bil, sponsored by Sarah Olney MP.
March will also see significant progress made on the draft Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill which will have four further committee meetings take place in March. Progress will also be made in the committee halls on the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill and the UK Infrastructure Bank Bill.
Elsewhere the Environmental Audit Committee will host a formal meeting to discuss sustainable timber and deforestation, while the Transport Committee will be debating strategic road investment.
Lastly, in March, there will be two orders and regulations heard in the House of Lords. Firstly, peers will hear about the draft higher-risk buildings (key buildings information etc.) (England) regulations 2023. Secondly, peers will hear about ensuring the high standards of workers rights.
If you made it this far...read about our Northampton Hub roundtable with Andrew Lewer MP
Members in the Northampton area were able to voice their opinions on a variety of issues impacting the industry in the region with their local MP, Andrew Lewer.
CIOB has had previous discussions with Andrew Lewer to highlight issues on procurement, levelling up, planning reforms and the current skills gap. Given Andrew is a member of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee, Chair of the SME House Builders APPG and Vice-Chair for the Housing and Planning Group APPG, this roundtable was of particular interest to him.
During the roundtable there were discussions around how slow planning approval is resulting in poor productivity, how blanket conditions for social value on all projects regardless of type and length is counter-productive and the barriers industry is facing to attract new talent due to red tape.
Towards the end of the discussion members focused on the role Professional Bodies, such as CIOB, can play when it comes to ensuring the workforce is competent and highlighted that construction can be a place for people to have a professional career.
Overall, the roundtable produced some thought-provoking insights and CIOB will continue to work with parliamentarians to highlight the issues the built environment faces, the potential solutions and how they can support us.
Staying in Touch
Thank you for reading this month’s update from the CIOB policy team. We will be back in your inbox next month with more information about what the team is up to, what is going on in Parliament and built environment news to look out for.
All the best,
The CIOB policy team
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