Forty per cent of SMEs said the UK would be able to “freely legislate” to meet the needs of British business if it left the EU, according to a survey by the Federation of Master Builders. The survey also found that 22.4 per cent of SMEs felt a Brexit could result in less red tape and bureaucracy. A further 14 per cent said that an exit could increase public sector capital investment through money saved from the UK’s financial contributions to the EU. Only 20 per cent of respondents said there would be no positive consequences of leaving the EU. However, the vast majority of members said they would vote with their personal views in mind, with only 17 per cent saying their decision would be based on their business interests. The research, which surveyed 214 FMB members, found that 20 per cent of SME builders believe staying in the EU would grow and stabilise the economy. More than half – 53 per cent – of all respondents said they did not feel well informed on the issues that could impact their business. FMB chief executive Brian Berry said the ongoing debate over Brexit “has done little to enlighten [small construction firms] on the issues that really matter”. “It just goes to show that although it’s important to explore the business case for leaving or remaining within the EU, for many people their decision will be based first and foremost on other drivers,” he said. “These could include the desire to be part of the wider European community or a compulsion to reclaim British national sovereignty.” He added that “few impartial facts” had been added by either side and it was “no wonder” that most builders would be opting to vote based on wider personal beliefs. The research follows Construction News’ April Barometer, which showed that 68 per cent of contractors wanted to remain in the EU, with a quarter backing the Leave camp and 7 per cent saying they were undecided. Research by the CBI showed that more than three-quarters of its construction members wanted to see the UK remain in the EU. Source link

Utilities should adopt the same attitude towards innovation and engineering seen in the space and aerospace sectors to address new challenges, according to an Oxford academic. Professor of engineering science at Oxford University, Tom Povey, told Utility Week that one way of doing this could be to bring in people from other industries such as aerospace. “It’s not do with specific ideas that might be transferred. I think it’s more to do with the mindset,” he said, adding that innovation is the aerospace sector’s “bread and butter” and engineers come up with “wacky ideas” that don’t come to fruition until “10 years down the line”. But, he said the same is not true for the utilities sector. “It’s not to do with the fact there isn’t scope for innovation,” he added. “I think it’s the fact that there isn’t a culture of innovation in those industries.” Povey founded engineering company Oxford Flow after coming up with a new type of pressure regulator for fluids whilst conducting research into turbines and jet engines. He said his company avoided hiring people with a background in utilities because of the mental “baggage” they brought with them: “We’re deliberately not recruiting people with experience in utilities even though that’s the sector we’re most interested in.” One problem, he said, was a lack of investment in technology development because “there are working products in most fields that satisfy most demands”. “I don’t think people have challenged themselves enough to come up with better or improved solutions,” he said. The utilities sector was once at the forefront of innovation “in the glory days of engineering” during the Victorian era, Povey said. Read Utility Week’s feature on what utilities can learn from space and aerospace here Source link