C O N S T R U C T I O N E M P L O Y E R S F E D E R A T I O N T H E V O I C E O F T H E I N D U S T R Y
HOUSING POLICY CONSULTATIONS
As part of the final element of consultation on the Department for Communities Housing Supply Strategy, we will shortly hold a members’ roundtable with DfC. The final Strategy is due to go live in the spring. Separately, the Department of Finance has launched a consultation on amending building control fees charged by local councils. The current fees charged by local councils for most building control applications for domestic buildings are set and have remained unchanged since 2013. In addition to proposing amending the fees, the consultation is seeking views on revising the fee structure going forward. The deadline for our response to this is 19 December.
ANOTHER DIFFICULT YEAR AND PREDICTION OF ANOTHER YEAR OF CHALLENGES AHEAD…
The year of perfect storms
P erhaps the most over-used adage within the past year is the ‘perfect storm’, which has been rolled out to describe almost every aspect of business, civic and personal life in 2021. There has been such a convergence of challenges visited upon our industry that, in truth, there is no single response or strategy to manage all the implications. Construction has had to adapt to the impact of the global disruption of materials manufacturing, the calamitous logistical melt down of the shipping freight routes, the everyday impact of Covid isolations and restrictions, and the Northern Ireland Protocol. The unpalatable truth for much of this year for many local contractors has been the delivery of public works at a loss for clients fearful of reproach for not enforcing inflexible contracts written for ‘normal’ times. For much of the year, our focus at the CEF has been on working with the Executive to ameliorate this crisis and whilst we have undoubtedly made progress in the shape of the Procurement
Advisory Note on Materials, it is beyond doubt that these challenges will persist well into the year ahead. As ever, we are indebted to our members for their time in working with us to come up with solutions to the many issues that have arisen across the last 12 months. Much of this has been achieved within our three new member taskforces to specifically focus on key areas of concern across our membership: CO2nstructZero, People & Skills, Risk & Procurement, and these truly are the themes where the future of the industry will be decided. In the upcoming election year, we will be focused on the new Investment Strategy, planning reform, water funding, streamlining procurement, and generally a better deal for construction. Our job, as ever, in 2022 will be to bring home to our politicians that it is only with a thriving, vibrant local construction industry that Northern Ireland can see sustained economic growth in the years ahead.
MANIFESTO FOR 2022 NI ASSEMBLY ELECTION With May’s Northern Ireland Assembly Elections drawing near, we are putting the finishing touches on our manifesto which will lay out the key asks from the construction sector of the next NI Executive. The manifesto will be published in early January with a focus on it in the next issue of Northern Ireland Builder. For more information on the Construction Employers Federation, visit: www.cefni.co.uk
28 | NI BUILDER
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