The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has published its Bi-Annual Report of the Council which covers its priorities for 2024 such as preparing the industry for the Building Safety Act, improving productivity, reducing carbon emissions and supporting biodiversity.
The report also highlights 2023 progress under each of the CLC’s four strategic priorities – Building Safety, Net Zero and Biodiversity, People & Skills, and Next Generation Delivery, while also demonstrating where it has acted on more immediate issues such as the rise in insolvencies in the sector.
The highlighted key outcomes of last year in the Report includes:
- New competence frameworks for roles required under the Building Safety Act.
- The launch of a strategy to eliminate the use of diesel by much of the sector.
- Consulted on a biodiversity roadmap.
- An updated PAS 2080, including guidance for buildings alongside infrastructure.
- Established an expert group to take forward development of the Information Management Mandate (BIM 2).
The CLC also made the case to protect tens of millions of pounds in R&D tax credits that had been in jeopardy because of proposed HMRC rule changes late last year. Following CLC intervention, the new approach will ensure that genuinely innovative construction businesses can continue to claim this vital tax credit, helping to support a more productive sector.
Looking forward, the report highlights continuing work in each of the aforementioned priority areas for 2024, including:
- Supporting the establishment of the Building Safety and Products Regulators.
- Promotion of domestic retrofit to reduce carbon emissions from existing homes.
- Leading the sector’s response to the current review of Industry Training Bodies.
- Working with the government to rapidly accelerate productivity in the sector.
- Further steps to purge the use of retentions from UK construction.
Nusrat Ghani, CLC co-hair and Minister for Business, said: “The UK’s construction industry contributes nearly 9% of UK GDP, creating highly skilled jobs across the country, and it’s a sector that adds huge economic value for us all.
“As the Minister for Industry, I’m committed to working with the CLC to build a stronger, greener, safer and more productive construction sector to deliver the homes and infrastructure Britain needs.”
Mark Reynolds, CLC co-chair, said: “When construction grows and flourishes, so does the wider UK economy – and it can only do so when our industry and government work hand-in-hand to identify and solve shared challenges. By doing so we can ensure that we’re giving construction what it needs most: the certainty and confidence to invest and grow.
“Everyone involved in the CLC should be proud of the progress we’ve made together over the past 18 months to protect and improve our brilliant industry. Our latest report captures all of that great work – and most importantly lays out a clear plan of how we’ll build on that success in the future.”
Richard Robinson, CLC deputy co-chair, added: “The progress we’ve made and the plans we’ve set out are only possible through public and private sector collaboration which is the cornerstone of the CLC’s work.
“Of course, there is still much to do but we should take confidence from what has been done as we collectively strive to transform the construction sector and infrastructure delivery in the UK.”
