The CIOB Policy Team Newsletter - August 2022
August with the CIOB Policy Team
Welcome to this edition of CIOB’s policy team newsletter.
This edition includes an overview of CIOB’s recent report into retrofit versus demolition in Scotland as well as an overview of our report in the construction sectors ability to implement changes post-Covid, highlights of our recent responses to Scottish Government consultations and a breakdown of CIOB’s upcoming activity at both Labour and Conservative Party Conference in October 2022.
If you have anything you would like to share with the policy team, we would love to hear from you, so please do get in touch at [email protected].
Scottish government urged to protect Scotland’s built environment from unnecessary and ‘cheap’ demolition
Some of Scotland’s oldest and possibly finest buildings could be at risk of being knocked down instead of lovingly restored due to a quirk in the UK’s Westminster-controlled VAT laws, says a report published by CIOB.
Currently, in the UK, renovation and retrofitting costs are subject to the standard 20% VAT, but demolition and new build is not, often making it more financially attractive to raze buildings to the ground than restore them, despite restoration usually being the greener option. This has serious negative impacts on decarbonisation with both demolition and new build generating significant levels of embodied carbon as well as pollution, noise, traffic and disruption and waste, most of which ends up in landfill or being incinerated. The UK’s lack of VAT on demolition makes it an outlier compared with most other nations.
The issue has been highlighted by CIOB, which launched it’s ‘Retrofit over Demolition’ discussion paper at the annual Green Home Festival in Edinburgh in August 2022. It acknowledges altering VAT laws isn’t within the powers of devolved governments but calls on the Scottish Government to consider other options, such as a demolition levy, to even up the financial playing field between demolition and renovation.
Click here to read more.
Lessons learnt during the Covid-19 pandemic leave lasting legacy
While the impact of Covid-19 is still being felt across the globe more than two years on, a new report published by the CIOB suggests the pandemic has left some positive legacies for the UK construction industry.
The report, ‘Learning lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic to strengthen the construction industry’, looks at how adaptations in the sector throughout the pandemic have helped improve long standing issues including collaboration and communication between contractors and clients, and flexible working patterns along with payment processes and worker wellbeing.
In a recent CIOB survey of 1,400 construction SMEs, more than half said they have experienced improvements to payment times, hygiene facilities and mental health support since the pandemic struck, with temporary measures introduced as a necessity to keep the sector operating safely during lockdown, having become business as usual.
While this positive step forward has been welcomed, the CIOB research does however highlight that further improving payment terms to under 30 days remains a priority for the majority of SMEs, backing up a call from CIOB in the report for the Government to revisit it’s Prompt Payment Code.
Click here to read more.
Regional overviews
- Wales
We recently submitted responses to the WHQS2023 and Decarbonisation of the Private Housing Sector consultations, with Welsh Government and the Senedd’s Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee respectively. These will shortly be published on the CIOB’s Consultations page.
On 13 September, we will also be running an event on the forthcoming Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill, for which you can register to attend here. Hannah Blythyn MS, Deputy Minister for Social Partnership, will speak at the event alongside other key stakeholders.
- Scotland
This month, we launched our recent discussion paper “Levelling the playing field, not Scotland’s built environment: a case for retrofit over demolition?” at the first annual Green Home Festival in Edinburgh.
On Thursday 15th September, we’ll be hosting the Culture Change Roadshow, alongside Scottish Futures Trust. This event will highlight critical themes in the construction industry today:
- Clients
- Public Sector Procurement
- EDI
- Digital Innovation
- Quality & Safety
These short presentations will outline some of the most salient issues facing the sector today and underscore the need to adapt and evolve the industry to meet the ever-evolving needs of our built environment. Register here to attend.
Our response to "Delivering Scotland's Circular Economy: a Route Map to 2025 and Beyond: consultation paper
The Scottish Government's Route Map to 2025 consultation paper sets out their proposed strategic plan to deliver Scotland's zero waste and circular economy ambitions to reach 2025 waste and recycling targets and long-term net-zero goals by 2045.
Our response outlined our support for a shift in culture and approach that encourages reuse and repair. We highlighted the CIOB's work and the built environment sector's willingness to partner with Government to achieve these goals. We strongly supported the investigation of options to incentivise the refurbishment of buildings, highlighting our recent discussion paper, Levelling the Playing Field, not Scotland's Built Environment, which considers whether a demolition levy might effectively prioritise retrofit and refurbishment.
Further, we strongly supported the Government's ambition to work with industry to accelerate the adoption of best practice standards. CIOB has long championed sustainability within the built environment sector; we have developed many resources to provide guidance to the built environment sector on how to cut carbon emissions by applying innovation and best practice to project design, construction, maintenance, operation, retrofit, and waste management and stand ready to work with Government to support sustainability practices across the built environment sector.
Read our full consultation response here.
CIOB at Party Conference
CIOB’s policy and public affairs team will be attending both Conservative and Labour Party Conference in Birmingham and Liverpool respectively.
During both Conferences the team will be hosting events with think tanks, other professional bodies and trade organisations.
If you would like any more information about any of the events. Likewise, if you are attending either conference and would like to meet the CIOB team in person please contact us at [email protected].
For your information we have included a brief overview of the events the team will be participating in below:
- Labour Party Conference – Fringe Events – 26 September 2022:
What does the UK’s skills gap mean for the “levelling up” agenda?
Hosted in partnership with Centre for Cities, this event will explore the impact of the UK's skills deficit on productivity and the role of skills in reducing regional inequality.
Data published in May 2022 by the ONS found that for the first time since records began, there are more job vacancies in the UK than there are unemployed workers, with vacancies hitting 1.3 million. The causes of this include older workers leaving the labour market following the pandemic and the impact of reduced high-skilled migration into the UK, but also key to this is a discrepancy between the existing skills of the workforce and those required from businesses – addressing this skills deficit has been identified as one of the 12 guiding missions under the government’s levelling up agenda.
Using the construction industry as a case study, the panel will explore the role of skills in tackling regional inequalities, how employers can contribute to closing the skills and how Labour intends to close the skills gap.
You can join the event by clicking the link here.
What does sustainable development look like?
Hosted in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), this invitation only event will explore how communities can maximise the long-term benefits of development.
Development creates and recreates communities across the UK, providing shelter and security, and enables access to work, public services and community spaces. But our housing crisis shows that people’s needs are not always reflected in decisions and delivery. From housing affordability and quality to retrofitting, infrastructure to placemaking, built environment experts from the UK’s leading professional bodies will share their vision for sustainable development and communities. This will include an exploration of key themes including regional and socio-economic inequality, inclusive design and development, ongoing building and planning reform, and climate resilience and adaptation.
- Conservative Party Conference – Fringe Events – 4 October 2022
Levelling up: building better?
Hosted in partnership with RICS, RIBA and RTPI, this open event will explore the relationship between the levelling up agenda and building quality.
From housing and hospitals to jobs and skills, the built environment helps communities thrive. But new development doesn’t always sit comfortably alongside existing homes, infrastructure and services. This panel will discuss how government and local leaders can draw on industry expertise to enable growth and development by empowering communities.
Increasing skills, decreasing bills: How retrofitting can help both levelling up and the cost of living
This event, hosted in partnership with the Federation of Master Builders focuses on the need to further consider a national strategy to retrofit the UK’s existing housing stock.
As energy bills continue to rise, homeowners are looking closer at the efficiency of their houses. This panel will explore how retrofitting properties with renewable technology could not only improve energy efficiency and decrease household bills, but also create new jobs and new skills around the country - levelling up housing and regions.
Coming up in September
After what feels like an eternity Parliament will be returning to session in September. Although this does not mean it will be business as usual.
As I am sure you are all aware a new Leader of the Conservative Party, and therefore new Prime Minister, will be announced on 5 September. With a new Prime Minister comes a new legislative commitment (although CIOB is calling for the existing legislative agenda to remain a priority) as well as a whole new cabinet. This will likely mean that the current list of activities in Parliament for September is subject to change.
Coming up in September we finally have some more progress for the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill as the public bill committee will sit again on 6 and 8 September to go through the Bill in more detail. In other committee news the Economic Affairs Committee will sit to hear oral evidence on their enquiry into UK Labour Supply and labour shortages. Finally, the Procurement Bill will continue through its committee stage throughout September.
In other Parliamentary news, there is an oral questions session scheduled for the Department of Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) on 12 September. This is likely to be our first change to hear the new departmental minister speak, so not one to miss. There is also a Westminster Hall Debate scheduled on 6 September on the potential merits of devolving employment law to Scotland which will be of interest given the recent announcement of a new Scottish independence referendum to take place in October 2023.
Finally for this month, both the House of Lords and House of Commons will enter recess again ahead of party conference season which will take place towards the end of September and start of October. The House of Lords will enter recess on 19 September until 10 October and the House of Commons will enter recess on 27 September until 17 October.
If you made it this far...Learn about the consultations for the Building Safety Act 2022 Secondary Legislation
In October 2022 DLUHC launched a series of consultations setting out the parameters for much of the secondary legislation that will accompany the Building Safety Act 2022.
The two consultations are titled Consultation on implementing the new building control regime for higher-risk buildings and wider changes to the building regulations for all buildings and Consultation on the in-occupation regime for occupied higher-risk buildings respectively. Each consultation contains 12 separate consultation sections focusing on issues such as the golden thread, dutyholder competence requirements, mandatory occurrence reporting, duties on residents and building safety appeals.
CIOB will be working alongside its Quality Implementation Group and the Construction Industry Council to formulate a response to all of these consultations. If you have any information you would like us to consider please submit it to [email protected]. The deadline for submitting responses to these consultations is 12 October so please submit any information well in advance of that date.
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