Political Parties Must Prioritise Smaller Firms To Win Industry's Hearts And Minds, Says NFB

Thousands of the construction industry’s small and medium sized (SME) contractors are calling on the major political parties to recognise their contribution to Britain’s economic, social and environmental prosperity or risk losing their support at the ballot box.

Leading trade body the National Federation of Builders (NFB) has united the voice of thousands of the industry’s SMEs – which account for over 99 per cent of the sector’s 200,000 employers - in its latest manifesto launched today (21 April).

Amongst the measures is a call to end the disadvantage experienced by many SMEs when tendering for work with the public sector – the industry’s single biggest client accounting for around 40 per cent of contracts.

This follows the most recent NFB public sector procurement survey in which more than a third of the 600 companies who responded said they were winning fewer public sector contracts over the last two years, despite government promises to improve access. A quarter of firms said they had been forced to make redundancies as a direct result.

The NFB, which represents over 1,500 firms, has called on the government to increase investment and incentives for small contractors and greater clarity on existing regulation in order to help meet the challenge of the UK’s low-carbon agenda through reducing emissions by 80 per cent in 2050.

Other measures outlined include:

• A commitment to increase the level of spending on training and apprenticeships, helping small firms to hire and retain apprentices to ensure the industry has a highly skilled workforce to meet demand when market demand returns.

• Promoting the use of a single pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) – the method by which many clients, particularly in the public sector, create their tender lists before shortlisting companies for contracts. The NFB’s 2009 public sector procurement survey also showed that on average the PQQ process cost every SME up to £5,000 each year thanks to duplication across multiple schemes.

• Further funding to support the work of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) so that advice and support is readily available to the whole industry.

• More effective regulation to remove cowboy builders. Nearly one in five (18 per cent) of British homeowners has fallen victim to sloppy workmanship, costing victims more than £6.8 billion.

• Breaking up of regional utility monopolies whose poor service in the provision of connections services to new developments continues to create severe financial penalties for SMEs.

• Reducing the regulatory burden and providing incentives for meeting environmental goals.
Commenting on the manifesto, Julia Evans, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders, said: “The construction sector was responsible for one in five insolvencies last year and 375,000 job losses in the last 18 months. The overwhelming majority of the industry’s employers are still SMEs and yet their voice is not being heard and their contribution is being ignored.

“Government will have some tough choices to make on public expenditure, but the decisions taken need to recognise the vital role that smaller contactors play in Britain’s economic, social and environmental prosperity.

“Government has to work with SMEs to listen and learn, shaping policies based on what they need, and providing services which will help them grow.

“Now is the time to endorse their role in the economic recovery that we all want, or run the risk of losing their support when the public takes to the ballot box on May 6.”

“Our 2010 manifesto sets out the most important issues we believe need addressing in order to start restoring confidence and health to a struggling sector.”

A full copy of the NFB’s manifesto is available at:
www.builders.org.uk