Industry Priorities for New Labour Government

(Graphic source: The Labour Party website)

After being confirmed as the country’s new Prime Minister last week, Sir Keir Starmer has now appointed his cabinet to start delivering the pledges he made in the Labour Party manifesto. The new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, used her first speech on Monday to set out how she would ‘get Britain building again’ as part of the Government’s ‘mission to kickstart economic growth’. Her focus is on planning reform and ‘tak[ing] the urgent steps necessary to build the infrastructure that we need, including one and a half million homes over the next five years’. These steps include restoring mandatory housebuilding targets, creating a new taskforce to accelerate stalled housing sites, and reforming the national planning policy framework.

Throughout the election, the new Government has identified the importance of construction to delivering its missions, and Sarah Jones MP, who has been appointed Minister of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Business and Trade, will have responsibility for construction.

CPA issued the following statement regarding the General Election results. Peter Caplehorn, Chief Executive of the Construction Products Association, says: ‘We welcome the new government and opportunity for change. The expectation from our industry is that this government will understand the importance of construction and manufacturing for the wider economy and keep its manifesto promise of developing an industrial strategy to help such businesses prosper.

‘We expect to engage with new Ministers quickly if they are to realise their ambitious goals for housebuilding, infrastructure, energy efficiency and a skilled workforce. A renewed focus on our trading and regulatory relationship with Europe needs attention to address the outstanding issues after Brexit, which although complex do need resolving very soon as they only serve as an obstacle to growth. We also look forward to working closely with the new administration on building safety and anticipate their full support for the Code for Construction Product Information.’

Previously, the Construction Products Association (CPA) had published a leaflet outlining ‘Our Priorities for the Next Government‘. This included:

• Support for a policy framework promoting growth, innovation, and performance
• Support the transition to a more sustainable built environment
• Mission-oriented policy goals with consistent, long-term investment

With the new Government now in power, Build UK emphasised the need for a clear and consistent voice from the construction sector. Build UK Chief Executive Suzannah Nichol OBE has shared Build UK’s ‘5 Ps to Power Up Construction’, setting out how agreeing and funding a national infrastructure plan for the next 10 years, with a responsible owner within the Treasury accountable for its delivery, will help Labour realise its ‘national mission’ of sustained economic growth. The 5 Ps are:

• An agreed and funded PIPELINE of sustainable economic and social infrastructure, which is regularly reviewed and updated, providing certainty and continuity for the next 10 years
• Suitable and sufficient PLACES TO LIVE delivered through improved planning, more suitable sites, and properly funded retrofit programmes
• Effective and efficient PROCUREMENT of projects, including implementation of the Construction Playbook, appropriate allocation of risk and fair payment practices
• Enhanced PERFORMANCE throughout the supply chain, with clear regulation and standards consistently applied to deliver safe buildings and high-quality infrastructure
• Investment in the development of PEOPLE supported from education into employment and throughout their careers