Membership of the FMB means you have a voice in Government. Our team is speaking up for Master Builders on the issues that matter the most to you. Here’s what we have been up to this month:
Material price increases
Rising material prices and delays in deliveries are the number one concern for builders.
We’ve taken the following action to highlight, to Government and consumers, the difficulties this has created for local builders:
- We’ve written to the UK Construction Minister, briefed the UK Housing Minister and briefed civil servants in both the Ministry of Housing and Homes England.
- We’re raising awareness of the issue amongst consumers by being quoted in the Daily Mail, BBC online, the Financial Times, the I, and on LBC Radio. We were also featured on BBC London TV, BBC Scotland TV, ITV News and across a wide range of regional BBC radio stations.
- We’re regularly attending the Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC) Products Availability Group, with FMB members sharing their feedback on shortages.
- In Northern Ireland, we are meeting the Department of Finance Minister to consider problems with supply costs, procurement, and the effect on SMEs.
Please continue to voice and share your experiences of rising material prices through forums like the FMB Facebook Group. You can stay up to date with the FMB’s activity on this issue through our material shortages page.
Focusing on a long-term plan to tackle climate change
If the UK Government is to meet its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, our homes must become much more energy efficient and use low carbon heating. To emphasise the role of small builders in this, and the opportunities available to them, we have:
- Relaunched the National Retrofit Strategy which is a blueprint, endorsed by the construction industry, for what a successful green homes scheme would look like.
- We wrote to the Secretary of State for Business to urge him to adopt this strategy.
- Supported the promotion of the Optimised Retrofit Programme (ORP) which is a scheme to upgrade the energy efficiency of homes in Wales.
- Held a joint roundtable between FMB Northern Ireland and Velux to discuss energy efficiency in homes, and to highlight our call for a National and Regional Retrofit Strategy.
We’re always interested to hear from members with an interest retrofit, energy efficiency and how construction can support the UK’s transition to net zero, so get in please get in contact with [email protected] if this sounds like you.
High quality skills and training for construction
The FMB continues to make the case for high-quality training in construction. To drive this agenda, we have:
- Responded to the Department for Education’s consultation on flexi-job apprenticeships, ahead of the Government’s release of a £7million fund later this year.
- Engaged with the national review of the construction apprenticeships, including the bricklayer standard.
- Raised concerns from members in Scotland over the employment-related funding incentives available by speaking to the Construction Scotland Industry Leadership Group and the Head of Apprenticeships at the Scottish Government.
- Supported CITB Northern Ireland’s Built Environment Working Group focusing on apprenticeship frameworks and career promotion of construction.
If you would like to join the FMB’s training group, or take part in future discussions on potential revisions to apprenticeship standards, please do get in touch with [email protected].
