CIOB responds to the Queen's Speech

On Tuesday 11 May the Queen officially opened Parliament, setting out the Government’s priorities for the coming parliamentary session and introducing thirty pieces of legislation which are intended to be passed this year. Opening her speech, the Queen said her Government’s priority is to “deliver a national recovery from the pandemic that makes the UK stronger, healthier and more prosperous.” 

CIOB welcomes the measures set out in the Queen’s Speech, including the Building Safety Bill, Planning Bill, Procurement Bill and the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill. We are pleased to see that the Government has recognised the value of the built environment sector by placing it at the heart of the UK’s recovery from the pandemic.

However, the devil will be in the detail, and with complex and overarching social, economic and environmental reforms proposed, it is essential that individual pieces of legislation work in harmony and that there is no conflict of their provisions in practice. We encourage the Government to work closely with CIOB and other built environment organisations to ensure that its proposed bills interact effectively, and that a holistic and collaborative approach is adopted to ensure that the built environment is fit for purpose for its users. 

Responding to the Queen’s Speech, Eddie Tuttle, Director of Policy, External Affairs and Research at CIOB, said: 

“CIOB is pleased to see that the construction industry is at the heart of the Government’s legislative plans for the coming parliamentary session. 

“We welcome the Government’s intention to proceed with the Building Safety Bill, which outlines the first comprehensive reform of building safety regulations since their introduction under the 1984 Building Act. We believe the bill sets out a compelling vision for the future of the industry. However, the success of the new regime is heavily dependent on how the new Building Safety Regulator is constituted and how it operates. We encourage the Government to make clear its intended timescale for the bill, to ensure that the safety of our buildings and their residents is addressed as a matter of urgency.” 

“The Building Safety Bill must align closely with the announced Planning Bill, which is intended to create a simpler, faster and more modern planning system, ensuring homes and infrastructure can be delivered more quickly across England. 

“Although we welcome the aims of the Planning Bill, we hold concerns that planned changes to permitted development rights (PDR) – if implemented without significant safeguards – could lock in unacceptable standard development which goes against the fundamental desire to improve building quality and safety set out in the Building Safety Bill. 

“We encourage the Government to be clear on how it will resolve any tension between the stated aims of PDR to increase the supply of housing by lessening the administrative burden on developers, and measures set out within the Building Safety Bill to strengthen regulatory oversight. Under current proposals, buildings created under PDR are not required to pass through the Gateway One checks specified in the Bill, thus potentially undermining the rigour of the new building safety framework. 

“We also welcome the announcement of a new Lifetime Skills Guarantee as part of the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, to give everyone the chance to acquire new expertise at any stage of their lives, so that they have the skills employers need. Ensuring the construction industry has a steady supply of labour with the necessary skills continues to be a significant challenge. We believe that a jobs-led recovery focused on helping the UK meet its targets for improving air quality, lowering carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency through the retrofitting of the existing building stock is one such mechanism. We would like to see a detailed strategy from Government setting out how it plans to increase the numbers of young people joining overlooked sectors such as construction. We urge them to work with the sector to identify in-demand and future skills; whilst promoting accessibility, to make sure that the skills strategy interacts and complement other pieces of proposed legislation, to ensure a holistic approach.” 

To read the transcript of the Queen’s speech, click here.