Written evidence by the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (PEG0019)

 

I am writing in response to the above call for evidence post pandemic economic growth,

 

The Civil Engineering Contractors Association is the representative body for companies who work day-to-day to deliver, upgrade, and maintain the UK’s transport and utility networks.

 

With more than 300 members throughout England, Scotland and Wales, we represent firms who together carry out up to 80 per cent of all civil engineering activity in the UK, in the key sectors of transport, energy, communications, waste and water.

 

Our members include some of the largest construction firms as well as a range of small specialist and regional contractors. Our industry supports the employment of over 200,000 people in the UK with annual activity worth £25 billion.

Despite the unique challenges our industry has faced as a result of the pandemic, we remain cautiously optimistic above the UK Government’s commitment to infrastructure led growth and work is ongoing to manage the return to work in many of our member companies.

The infrastructure investments and commitments announced in the March Budget were generally welcomed by industry, and we welcome the recent news that construction on the first phase of HS2 is going ahead.

We have long argued for clear funded pipeline visibility with a steady and even workstream to support long term investment in resources and supply chains, and we welcome the steps taken by government and clients to work towards this.

In light of the pandemic, we have worked across industry to produce a targeted two year recovery plan to kick start the economy via investment in construction and infrastructure.

As part of this work, CECA is specifically focusing on generating infrastructure growth and over the coming months we will be supporting our members as we look towards economic recovery.

We hope that you find the information below of interest to your inquiry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What core/guiding principles should the Government adopt/prioritise in its recovery package, and why?

 

How can the Government borrow and/or invest to help the UK deliver on these principles?

 

  1. CECA believes that Government’s priority as we look towards economic recovery must be to protect jobs and support businesses. Our experience of the 2008 recession demonstrated that maintaining employment as far as possible helped reduce the impact of the last downturn.

 

  1. Protecting and supporting the generators of the UK’s GDP means that they will be ready to grow again as we look towards economic recovery.

 

  1. Infrastructure has historically played a key role in kickstarting the economy, enabling other sectors to flourish, and providing a strong return on investment.

 

 

What measures and support will businesses need to rebuild consumer confidence and stimulate growth that is sustainable, both economically and environmentally?

 

  1. For infrastructure our priority is to ensure that there is continuity, certainty and visibility of workload investment in the next few months.

 

  1. This visibility of pipeline must include projects of all sizes in order to boost UK wide growth and must also consider their environmental impact for the long-term.

 

  1. To this end, CECA is calling on Government to accelerate those schemes that might otherwise have been delivered in mid to late 2021 into the second half of 2020 and early 2021, in order to ensure that there is sustainable workload for the sector.

 

 

Whether the government should give a higher priority to environmental goals in future support?

 

  1. CECA members acknowledge the role they play in driving growth and their responsibility towards ensuring the infrastructure they build has minimal impact on our environment. 

 

  1. As we move towards recovery after Covid-19, it is imperative that we ensure that the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 remains at the heart of all government policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whether the Government should prioritise certain sectors within its recovery package, and if so, what criteria should it use when making such decisions? What conditions, if any, should it attach to future support?

 

  1. CECA recognises that all sectors will make their case to Government for prioritisation. In our view, Government’s focus should be on maximising those with proven outcomes, such as strategic investment in infrastructure to generate substantial economic growth. Our research has specifically found that:

 

 

 

 

How can the Government best retain key skills and reskill and upskill the UK workforce to support the recovery and sustainable growth?

 

  1. As we have indicated above, visibility of pipeline is crucial to retaining and building upon the skills needed to deliver infrastructure which supports the wider economy.

 

  1. We also support measures to promptly find roles for those that are displaced as a result of the current crisis. With forecast growth in the infrastructure sector, there will be recruitment opportunities for new entrants and those that have lost their jobs in other sectors. We believe that the Government should also support both existing apprentices, and encourage new apprenticeships to avoid young people being lost from the employment pool as a result of Covid-19. We would welcome Government support that incentivised employers to recruit apprentices and displaced workers, helping to maintain employment levels across the economy.

 

 

Is the Industrial Strategy still a relevant and appropriate vehicle through which to deliver post pandemic growth?

 

  1. CECA has been a long term supporter of the current Industrial Strategy and its associated industry sector deals. We continue to believe that the Strategy provides a direction of travel which remains relevant and which will complement industry’s post pandemic recovery plan. 

 

 

How should regional and local government in England, (including the role of powerhouses, LEPs and growth hubs, mayoralties, and councils) be reformed and better equipped to deliver growth locally?

 

  1. The UK Government is committed to the process of devolution and is learning the lessons from the first and second wave of devolution deals. Devolution goes hand in hand with the political climate and, we believe, is best done gradually, on a highly evidenced basis.

 

  1. The creation of the Sub National Transport Bodies has seen a much welcome drive towards closer collaboration and partnership between local, national authorities and private enterprise.

 

  1. Devolution has also had positive effects in the city regions where there are elected metro mayors. Their appointment has raised the profile of their regions and at the same time has given a clearer focus to serving regional needs.

 

  1. In our view, further devolution must include genuinely transformational funding for infrastructure, especially transport.

 

  1. While CECA continues to be a long-term supporter of devolution, there remains some concern from our members that without fully mandated powers from Government at this stage, it is only creating another layer in the process of generating schemes, without the power needed to meaningfully deliver change.

 

 

What opportunities does this provide to reset the economy to drive forward progress on broader Government priorities, including (but not limited to) Net Zero, the UK outside of the EU and the ‘levelling up’ agenda? What should the Government do to ensure that delivering on these priorities does not exacerbate the vulnerability of businesses, consumers and communities/workers that have been impacted by COVID-19?

 

  1. Covid-19 has delivered an unprecedented shock to our social and economic growth. However, it has also provided an opportunity to change how we live and work. Within our sector the cross-industry recovery plan focuses on reinvention as we return to growth.

 

  1. We envisage that this will achieved through:

 

 

 

 

 

What lessons should the Government learn from the pandemic about actions required to improve the UK’s resilience to future external shocks (including – but not limited to – health, financial, domestic and global supply chains and climate crises)?

 

  1. Following the outbreak of Covid-19, we welcomed the publication of Government support and guidance, which helped construction sites remain safely open with additional support for companies who could not fully operate due to the pandemic.

 

  1. We were able to use the public health information issued as the basis for industry specific guidance – known as the Site Operating Procedures - to quickly help protect workers working within our firms from the virus. 

 

 

  1. We were also proud to play our part in the national effort. Since the initial outbreak of coronavirus in March 2020, businesses from across the industry have been supporting the fight against the disease, providing vital resource to those on the frontline, and safeguarding construction workers and local communities.

 

  1. Our response included the donation of PPE to other sectors, indicating a weakness of that supply chain. Members also reporting challenges in accessing materials. Both of these must be addressed in order to mitigate future external shocks.

 

July 2020