The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Northern Ireland has called on the Northern Ireland Assembly to act. The manifesto Building for Success divides into three sections, headed: Building a Greener Northern Ireland; Developing Skills and Training; and Creating a New Business Environment.
FMB Northern Ireland director Maire Nawaz said: “We need to get Northern Ireland building again. The construction industry has now entered its fourth year of decline with Northern Ireland members reporting worse conditions than in any other part of the UK. Yet the building industry in Northern Ireland continues to employ more than 70,000 people and account for some £2.5bn of economic activity each year.
“Construction is at the heart of so much of what Northern Ireland hopes to achieve in the years ahead including more homes, improved transport, better schools and hospitals. Therefore supporting growth in the construction industry must be a priority for the next Assembly.”
Nawaz continued: “FMB NI has identified three key challenges for the next Assembly. First the urgent need to retrofit our existing homes to help make them greener and more energy efficient. Small building firms can lead the transition to a low carbon economy but only if homeowners are incentivized to make their homes more energy efficient.
“Secondly, the need to develop our skills and training. If small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) are to make our buildings more energy efficient they will need to upskill to meet the new challenges ahead. Northern Ireland’s politicians can encourage SMEs to train their employees by showing a strong commitment to ambitious retrofit initiatives like the Green New Deal. Finally, there is now an urgent need to create a new business environment without excessive control, regulation and taxation to allow small building firms to prosper.”
Nawaz concluded: “Northern Ireland is at an important crossroads because the decisions taken over the next four years will have a profound and lasting impact on the economy. It is essential that after May’s election, ministers support and encourage the important contribution that small building firms make. All that is needed is the political will to ensure we build for success.”
There was support from Sammy Wilson MP MLA , minister for finance and personnel, who said: “It is widely acknowledged that a vibrant construction sector benefits the economy as a whole. In this regard engagement between government and the construction sector is critical to ensure that we recover from the current economic downturn. Government listens to industry views and understands the difficulties it is facing. We must consider practical means to address the issues and therefore the publication of these policy recommendations is welcomed.”
The Building for Success manifesto
Building a Greener Northern Ireland
- Increase support for the Green New Deal in order to reduce carbon emissions from the existing building stock and create new jobs in the local construction industry.
- Introduce low interest rate loans and other financial incentives to stimulate significant additional spending on energy efficiency in Northern Ireland’s housing stock
- Recognise warranted and trusted builder accreditation schemes, and ensure local SMEs are included on select lists for low carbon retrofit work.
- Increase the number of recycling sites available for construction waste.
- Make local authority recycling sites available for minor quantities of commercial waste.
- Introduce incentives to encourage the reuse of construction materials.
Developing Skills and Training
- Increase funding for apprenticeships in Northern Ireland so that SMEs are incentivised to employ the trainees that the construction sector requires to meet future demand.
- Recognise the benefits of employer-led apprenticeship programmes and work-based learning so that new entrants can develop the skills employers need.
- Provide funding for training to enable SMEs to adapt to the low-carbon agenda and take advantage of new business opportunities.
- Support more management, leadership and business training and qualification programmes to help Northern Ireland construction SMEs stay competitive.
- Link training to public sector procurement to increase the number of construction apprentices and ensure public money goes to employers committed to training the future workforce.
Creating a New Business Environment
- Accelerate funding to a range of small and medium-sized projects such as social housing upgrades in order to sustain SME building contractors and meet the housing needs of the local population.
- Streamline public sector procurement so that Northern Ireland’s local SME contractors have a fair chance of benefiting directly from public spending.
- Purchase ‘zombie’ sites where economically feasible and complete works so that local areas can enjoy the housing and regeneration benefits.
- Implement plans to bring Northern Ireland’s 80,000 empty properties back into use, maintaining a rates exemption for unsold stock.
- Develop public-private partnerships that share both the risks and benefits of housing delivery.
- Continue to apply pressure to Northern Ireland’s banks to increase the flow of vital credit to SMEs.
- Increase pressure on the UK government to cut the rate of VAT on building repairs and maintenance to 5% in order to boost Northern Irish construction jobs and reduce the number of cowboy builders.
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