The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that a campaign for wide-ranging rent control is to be key to his 2020 re-election bid. He asked the government to give the London mayoralty the power to combat soaring rents in the capital. To this news, Alexandra Morris, Managing Director of
When you’ve found the perfect piece of property for your home or real estate investment, the next step is to find the right construction company. It’s essential to select the right company in order to ensure your initial investment is protected and to give you the best possible future outcome
The havoc caused by Mother Nature can sometimes cause havoc on our nation. Thankfully, rural insurance providers, Lycetts, are here to provide us with advice on how we can prepare for, and then recover from, a number of problematic disasters. Drought We use a huge amount of water throughout the
Housing needs in the UK are changing amid declining levels of home ownership and lifestyle shifts. Rather than the traditional ‘buy-and-hold’ model, residential housing needs are shifting towards developments that are built for rent and aimed towards a specific demographic who are at a particular life stage. As such, funding
Nottingham’s SDL Group has been named as the fastest growing private equity backed business in the Midlands. The Chilwell-based property specialist took the top spot in the 2018 Private Equity Growth Barometer with an average growth rate of 69 per cent. The report was compiled by leading accountancy and business
Last week, Theresa May announced she is lifting the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Borrowing Cap, which has been a constraint on local council’s ability to finance new build housing projects. The Prime Minister has stated that the only way to fix the broken market is to create new homes for new
In nearly six months’ time, on 29 March 2019 at 11pm UK-time to be more exact, the Brexit is expected to happen and the UK will leave the EU. The construction industry has already started to feel the impact of Brexit, and has ongoing concerns about, amongst other things, skill
The first concrete look into how the UK market has performed on the two-year anniversary of the country’s decision to leave the EU has been provided by the latest UK HPI release of property price data for June. With the headlines showing house price growth is at a five year
Leading apprenticeship provider Develop Training has welcomed news that large employers are now able to transfer their levy funds to other organisations. However, the company cautioned that firms will have to manage the process well to maximise the potential business benefits. It also warned that the move is adding more
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has released a new industry report ‘Procuring for Value’, authored by CLC member, Global Board Director of Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) and industry expert Ann Bentley. This follows the launch of the government’s Construction Sector Deal last week, As the Public Administration & Constitutional Affairs
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that a campaign for wide-ranging rent control is to be key to his 2020 re-election bid. He asked the government to give the London mayoralty the power to combat soaring rents in the capital. To this news, Alexandra Morris, Managing Director of online letting agent, MakeUrMove, said the following: “The main problem for tenants is a lack of supply in the housing market, meaning it does not meet demand, particularly when it comes to social housing. Rent controls do not deal with this problem, they merely seek to address a symptom of the problem. “Most good landlords don’t regularly increase rents, because they want to provide a service their tenants can afford. This means most landlords experience a real terms reduction in their rental income year on year. “Rent controls would represent another burden for landlords who are already facing interest rate rises, tax relief changes and increasing regulation. This could become a further barrier to landlords covering their costs or making a small profit. “As smaller landlords often have one eye on getting out of the market, rent controls could prove to be the final straw. This would further reduce capacity in the private rental sector. “In addition, there will also be some landlords who wouldn’t have increased rents but who now feel they have permission to put rents up in line with the rent control measures. “All of these factors will lead to more rapidly increasing average rents because the fundamental issue – that we aren’t building anywhere near enough homes in the UK – has yet to be adequately addressed.”
When you’ve found the perfect piece of property for your home or real estate investment, the next step is to find the right construction company. It’s essential to select the right company in order to ensure your initial investment is protected and to give you the best possible future outcome for the project. There are lots of different construction companies out there, but they definitely are not all equal. Look For a Construction Company With Relevant Experience First, you should choose a construction company that specializes in the kind of work you need to be done. Construction styles vary greatly between commercial and residential. They also vary greatly between materials used. If you’re looking for a construction company for a commercial steel beam building, you wouldn’t hire a company that’s only done wood residential projects. Similarly, if you have a pole building to construct, you’ll want to hire a construction company with that exact kind of construction experience. Read more here. You can easily narrow down your choices by reviewing the project portfolios of construction companies in your area. Once you find some that do similar work, move on to the following list of seven key features you need to look for when choosing the right construction company for your building project. 1. Longevity In Business In the construction world, companies come and go. The good ones survive and the other ones go out of business due to poor quality. When choosing a construction company for your building project, look for one that has been in business for as many years as you see fit. It bears repeating that the longer a construction company has been around, the more likely it is that they know what they’re doing and they do good work. Chapman’s Construction has a proven track record of excellence, ensuring top-quality results for all your building needs. 2. Financial Stability Another key feature to look for in a construction company is financial stability. Construction companies have quite a few expenses to take care of in order to complete a job. They have to payroll, tax payments, equipment lease payments, travel expenses, and all sorts of miscellaneous costs. This all comes out of the company account – or it should. Some nefarious construction companies that aren’t financially stable may rely on the latest client payment to fund older projects. Companies like these don’t manage their finances well and end up using your money to finish off another customer’s job. Meanwhile, when it comes time to start on your project they come up short until they can find yet another customer. 3. Sound Management The construction company should have a sound management system in place that includes a general contractor, site security personnel, assistant managers, crew supervisors at a bare minimum. Construction companies that try to operate with a skeleton management system often end up disappointing customers because there isn’t sufficient supervision on the job site. 4. Sustainable And Eco-Friendly Work Practices If eco-construction is important to you, then you should seek out a construction company that is LEED-certified or at least tries to use sustainable materials and eco-friendly construction practices. If you’re going for a building that you ultimately want to be LEED-certified, you will be forced to choose a construction team that is also LEED-accredited. If eco-friendly construction isn’t important to you, it’s safe to not worry about this feature. If you don’t, however, you should realize that there may end up being a lot of material and hazardous waste from the project. Disposal of these materials will most likely come out of your pocket. 5. Insured Your building permit from the town may be contingent upon you hiring a construction company with a certain minimum insurance coverage. Liability insurance is an important consideration when hiring anyone to work on your property. Typically, a two million dollar liability policy is standard. Be sure to ask for and retain a copy of the certificate, which should name you or your building project company as the covered party. 6. References Most construction companies will have a website and an online portfolio of completed projects for you to review. However, you should also ask for some references along with contact emails or phone numbers. Contact a handful of past clients to find out how the construction company was to work with. Specific questions to ask include, was the project completed on time, was the budget adhered to, and if there were any issues, did the company satisfactorily take care of them. If the company rep can’t supply at least three references for you to contact, this is a sign that you might want to continue looking elsewhere for a construction company. 7. Good Rapport Most importantly, you should be able to have a good rapport with any construction company you plan to hire for your project. Communication is the foundation of a successful construction project. Without it, there can be misunderstandings, intimidation, and mistakes that cannot be rectified. Be very certain that there is trust and respect between you and the construction company representative. It’s important that you feel that your opinions are being listened to and that you have input as to how you’d like the final project to come out. Finally, pay attention to how the subordinates at the company respond to the company rep. Do they appear confident in their job? Or do they seem intimidated or frightened of the boss? Frightened workers can be afraid to speak up if they see something wrong on the job site, which is not conducive to a safe work environment. Once you’ve found the perfect property, the best construction company for the job will be one that meets all or most of the above features. Don’t be afraid to take your time choosing which one. Before going ahead with any home renovation work, we always recommend getting multiple quotes so you can compare the service and price. You’ll be working with whomever you choose for the duration of the project, which could take many months. You’ll be glad you chose a
The havoc caused by Mother Nature can sometimes cause havoc on our nation. Thankfully, rural insurance providers, Lycetts, are here to provide us with advice on how we can prepare for, and then recover from, a number of problematic disasters. Drought We use a huge amount of water throughout the UK. In fact, Water UK states that over 17 billion litres of water is delivered to the nation’s mains water supply per day. This water will cater for more than 60 million consumers, with 150 litres used by each of us on a daily basis on average. Of course, this water will go into the UK’s mains water supply whether there is rain or not. Therefore, a drought will officially be declared in the country if we experience 15 days of minimal wet weather — under 0.2mm of rain. In the UK, we tend to witness a drought once every five to ten years. How to prepare A top tip to help us prepare for a drought is to regularly make water conservation practices a part of your everyday life. That way, you will be familiar with using less water in the scenario that water limitation measures are brought in across the country. This means that you should look to use any spare water you have on your indoor plants, or on a suitable outdoor area of your workplace instead of just putting it down the drain once you’ve used it. An instant hot water heater should be installed onto your sink too, while dripping faucets should be repaired by replacing the water — for this last point, bear in mind that a single drip per second will result in 2,700 gallons of water being wasted per year! You should also consider planting native and drought-tolerant shrubs, trees, grass and ground covers in different locations on your land. This is because they will adapt to the local climate and not need too much water once established; not to mention often surviving a sustained dry period without watering. Mulch should also be used to retain moisture in the soil, with the added benefit being that mulch controls weeds which compete with other plants for water. How to recover In most cases, your daily routine will sharply adjust back to normal following a drought. Any hosepipe bans which were enforced will be swiftly lifted, for instance, so that you can go back to cleaning the exterior of your business and watering plants as normal. Any restrictions on water use will be eased too, though it’s still best to keep up the water conservation practices advised above as a way of life moving forwards. However, it may take your lawn a longer period of time to recover. If it’s being subjected to a drought for a long period, turf grasses may have turned brown and stopped growing completely. While most of the lawn will often recover in time with renewed rainfall, you should look to carry out renovation and repair work in the autumn for particularly problematic areas. Over-seed areas which are sparsely-grassed — this guide by the RHS will help — and refrain from using lawn weed killers on turf that has been affected by drought throughout the autumn. The post-drought recovery in the UK is also monitored by the Environment Agency. In its Drought response: our framework for England report, the organisation states: “Once a drought recedes, it’s important to continue environmental monitoring to assess recovery of sites and identify any long-term environmental damage. Our area analysis and reporting teams are responsible for establishing and carrying out a drought recovery monitoring programme. Drought monitoring will normally continue until the ecology has recovered to normal conditions.” Flooding Flooding has been a major concern in recent years in the UK. Between November 2015 and January 2016, for instance, the UK experienced the most ever rainfall for that date period. Not too earlier than that, the wettest winter on record for the UK was recorded during the winter of 2013/14. How to prepare Thankfully, we should generally have a lot of time to prepare for floods due to the regular media updates. This page of GOV.UK should also be monitored, as it informs you if your area is either at an immediate risk of flooding, at risk anytime in the next five days or is seen to be a long-term risk area. If there’s a high risk that your area will be flooded, then you should make up an emergency kit. There are different ones for when you’re at a facility, on the move, or in your car, which Red Cross details here. You should also purchase some sand and sandbags in good time — these are likely to be in high demand once a flood strikes. If you have been advised to leave your property, be sure to turn off all mains power so there’s no risk of electrocution from floodwater. Also, shut and lock every window and door to protect your property and also to give an extra barrier from floodwater getting inside. Take up-to-date photographs around the interior of your workplace too, as they may prove very useful in the event you need to make an insurance claim. How to recover Dispose of any food products if you property has been flooded as floodwater is at risk of being contaminated with sewage. Until your water supplies company gives your tap water the all clear, you should only boil tap water or use bottled water. Your water supplies company should be contacted if your tap water’s colour, smell or taste has changed as well. Gas or electrical items should also not be switched on until they have been checked by a qualified technician, as they may have got wet during a flood. You should also contact your insurance company as soon as possible. Make sure to take photographs ahead of starting any cleaning up too — which can be coupled with the photos taken when preparing for a flood as a
Housing needs in the UK are changing amid declining levels of home ownership and lifestyle shifts. Rather than the traditional ‘buy-and-hold’ model, residential housing needs are shifting towards developments that are built for rent and aimed towards a specific demographic who are at a particular life stage. As such, funding needs are changing to support these types of developments and this should lead investors to consider new ways of accessing the property market. Why is the UK property market experiencing change? Homeownership levels have fallen dramatically among the younger generation over the last thirty years. In 1991, 67% of 25-34 year olds were homeowners compared with 36% in 2014. Meanwhile, private sector renting more than doubled between 1980 and 2014. This is not just a UK phenomenon. In the United States, for example, home ownership fell to its lowest level in more than five decades in 2016. Declining homeownership is resulting from both cyclical economic forces as well as longer-term structural trends. While economic pressures have been important contributors towards declining homeownership, especially among millennials, longer-term lifestyle shifts are also having a significant impact. The way people live and work is frequently less structured and standardised than in the past, and there appears to be less desire for people to be held down by long-term commitments. Coinciding with the advent of the ‘gig’ economy has been rising numbers of self-employed and contract workers over the last twenty years, suggesting a more mobile and flexible workforce. Nonetheless, while both the residential and commercial property sectors are experiencing significant change, new investment opportunities are opening as developers adjust their product offerings to meet evolving economic conditions and lifestyles. In fact, some of the most innovative developments are happening in the residential market. Co-living benefits the individual and the community ‘Co-living’ is an area of particular interest and future growth. These developments, which at this point are mainly focused in London, cater for young professionals’ more mobile lifestyles. They offer the convenience of all-inclusive costs, covering rent and bills as well as services such as cleaning and gym membership. This market is further developed in the United States and the evidence suggests widespread popularity in metropolitan areas such as New York and Oakland, California. In addition to convenience, this type of living arrangement combines the benefits of feeling part of a community while at the same time offering individual privacy. Occupiers have shared living spaces, but they can also retreat to their own fully furnished private apartment. It presents an attractive choice for young people, especially as a national survey recently found that 16-34 year olds experience feeling more lonely than older generations. However, it is not just the investment potential that these types of new developments hold for investors. Co-living and other purpose-built rental developments may also hold wider economic benefits that could help the struggling UK high street. How can investors take advantage? Investors can access these types of purpose-built rental developments through development finance or bridge loans, which are secured by the underlying assets and offer higher yields relative to UK government and corporate bonds – typically between 5% and 8% per annum net of fees. With banks and building societies retrenching from lending in the post-financial crisis years, this market presents a growing opportunity as developers look to secure funding from a diverse range of sources. Although still at an early stage of development, operational assets are a logical, modern way to benefit from an evolving and changing UK property market. By Tom Brown, Managing Director at Ingenious Real Estate
Nottingham’s SDL Group has been named as the fastest growing private equity backed business in the Midlands. The Chilwell-based property specialist took the top spot in the 2018 Private Equity Growth Barometer with an average growth rate of 69 per cent. The report was compiled by leading accountancy and business advisory firm BDO. According to the new study, the average annual growth rate across the top 50 fastest growing private equity backed Midlands businesses was 18.3 per cent, compared to a UK annual gross domestic product growth rate of 1.3 per cent, meaning SDL Group far surpassed the Midlands average. SDL Group has cemented its position as an industry leader in the property services sector, amassing an annual turnover of more than £100m. In the past two years, the firm has acquired a range of businesses including prominent auction specialists Graham Penny and CP Bigwood, expanding its services. Meanwhile, the firm has tripled its workforce since 2014, now employing over 600 people nationwide. Commenting on the Private Equity Growth Barometer, SDL Group’s chief financial officer, Colin Anderton said: “This is a major achievement for the Group and really demonstrates the strength of our people and services. “Our growth has come from our ability to adapt and identify new opportunities in what has been a challenging economic and political climate. In 2016, we acquired the prominent auction specialists CP Bigwood and Graham Penny, and we also launched our own Auction Partners network, capitalising on what we see as the growing mainstream popularity of auctions. “Our Property Partners franchise scheme for property management has also been a big success and recently celebrated its first birthday. “Organic growth remains a key focus for us in 2019. We will be continuing to place our customers at the heart of every decision we make, with the aim of revolutionising their experience of property services.” Andrew Mair, author of the report and partner at BDO, said: “Our analysis clearly demonstrates that private equity investment provides businesses with the support to exploit growth opportunities and it is fantastic to see so many taking advantage of these opportunities in the Midlands. “We are delighted to have recognised SDL as the fast growing PE-backed business in our 2018 private equity growth barometer and hope that they continue to thrive through 2019 and beyond.” For more information on SDL Group, visit www.sdlgroup.co.uk.
Last week, Theresa May announced she is lifting the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Borrowing Cap, which has been a constraint on local council’s ability to finance new build housing projects. The Prime Minister has stated that the only way to fix the broken market is to create new homes for new buyers, but that isn’t the same view as a lot of the population, and the decision has ruffled some feathers. Agitation from the decision comes through the idea that councils are not the reason there is a fundamental housing problem occurring across the country. Josh Ryan-Collins, a researcher at the University College of London’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, published his research paper: Why Can’t you afford to buy a house? Which aims to shed some light on the current housing turmoil across the United Kingdom. The basics of his argument lie in that the housing crisis, above all else, is a product of the banking system in society, meaning that rising house prices are simply out of reach for the average house income, which is putting people off the purchase of a new home. Now that councils are once again able to borrow money in order to fuel new local builds, there is the idea that new wealth can come to an area and people are able to get onto the property ladder more easily. That being said, the alternative view is that councils being able to once again borrow money will in fact do little for the economy, and will not actually address any greater aspects of the housing crisis, instead this will simply add more debt to local areas, and more money into the banking systems. Josh’s argument is that central banks should be guiding away from property and into more productive areas of the community to slowly build up wealth, rather than borrowing for a quick-fix build. An incentive system is not in place at the moment which could, and should, be implemented to see housing in the future be a more successful sector nationwide. It is not just the UK who have been suffering from housing epidemics, as across the world a trend of struggling economy has begun to surface. This problem has been as such since the post-war popularization of home ownership was introduced and put pressure on governments to reduce their property taxation. This in turn made it more attractive for banks to lend larger sums of money, such as in the form of a mortgage, which now has become a major part of banking business across the globe. While it remains uncertain if Theresa May’s decision will be for better or worse, it does not look as if the housing crisis cannot be resolved by simply building more homes.
In nearly six months’ time, on 29 March 2019 at 11pm UK-time to be more exact, the Brexit is expected to happen and the UK will leave the EU. The construction industry has already started to feel the impact of Brexit, and has ongoing concerns about, amongst other things, skill and labour shortages, the increasing price of materials, potential import and export tariffs. Another area of concern for the construction industry has been how the system of advertising UK contracts for works, goods and services to EU companies would work post-Brexit and how businesses in the UK construction industry would be able to continue to bid for work, goods and services in Europe. This is important because many UK construction and consultancy businesses benefit and need to continue to benefit from smooth and open working relationships with EU businesses. The government’s position While the government continues to negotiate with the EU, in the hope of reaching agreement on a number of key points in the next few months, it is also starting to prepare for a ‘no-deal Brexit’. As part of that, a couple of weeks ago the UK Cabinet Office released guidance entitled ‘Accessing public sector contracts if there’s no Brexit deal’ which sets out how works, goods and services can continue to be accessed across the UK and EU in the event of the UK leaving the EU without an agreement in place. The current system At the moment, UK public bodies and authorities can procure certain works, goods and services for construction projects, including from EU businesses, by advertising them on the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) via Tenders Electronic Daily (TED). Equally, UK contractors, consultants, manufacturers and other construction businesses can bid to provide works, goods and services to EU public bodies through OJEU via TED. This means that, for example, a UK public authority procuring specialist offshore trenching and vessel services for a government-funded offshore renewables project can receive tenders from specialist construction companies throughout the EU. It also means that UK companies, for example a UK architectural business, can tender for a commission to design a high profile development project in Spain on the same basis as companies based in other EU member states. But post-Brexit, without a deal, this position would change. The government’s guidance There are two key messages in the government’s guidance ‘Accessing public sector contracts if there’s no Brexit deal’: First, the UK is aiming to accede to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). The GPA is an international trade deal that the UK currently participates in by virtue of its EU membership, but in a No-Deal Brexit world the UK will need to become a member itself. Whilst this is not a new position it does confirm that there has been no change to the government’s position on the need to seek GPA membership. Second, the UK will develop a UK version of OJEU / TED, which it refers to as ‘a replacement UK- specific e-notification service’. The guidance states that: UK-based contract opportunities would no longer be advertised to the EU on OJEU / TED and would instead be advertised on the new replacement UK-specific free-to-use e-notification service This UK e-notification service will be available from ‘Exit day’ The requirement to advertise and ability to access other UK domestic systems will remain eg on Contracts Finder, MOD Defence Contracts Online, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI UK businesses who wish to tender or bid for EU contract opportunities may continue to do so via OJEU / TED and To enable the above, some changes to how the current procurement rules operate may be necessary, and these will be made by amending existing UK legislation. The government has also said that further information will be provided nearer to the Brexit date. So, has the government provided clarity? In part, yes. The government has at least given some insight into its thinking about how works, goods and services can be advertised and procured across the EU in the event of a No-Deal Brexit. However, there is very little detail around how this will work in practice. In particular, while the guidance says that “Suppliers who wish to access contract opportunities from the EU may continue to do so via OJEU/TED”, it is not clear whether this position would be agreed to by the EU or whether they would have to access OJEU/TED as third country participants. UK public authorities, construction companies, construction industry professionals and other construction industry businesses may also be concerned that, during a period in which they dealing with other challenges that may arise for their businesses due to Brexit (such as skill and labour shortages), they will potentially also have to familiarise themselves with a new UK e-notification service. One thing is clear though, with no agreement yet reached with the EU, and with the Brexit date looming in a matter of months, the government should be working hard behind the scenes to flesh out its guidance, to provide certainty for UK public authorities and the construction industry before 29 March. We would hope to hear more on this by the end of this year.
The first concrete look into how the UK market has performed on the two-year anniversary of the country’s decision to leave the EU has been provided by the latest UK HPI release of property price data for June. With the headlines showing house price growth is at a five year low across the UK, leading Hybrid Estate Agent, Emoov.co.uk, has crunched the numbers to see where has suffered and where has shrugged off the wider market slowdown to enjoy strong price growth. The UK Nationwide, prices are up 7.3% since the vote, with England and Scotland both enjoying the same increase, while price growth in Wales trails slightly at 7.1% and has hit 7.7% in Northern Ireland. Regionally, the West and East Midlands are ahead of the rest with price growth hitting double-digit figures in the last year, 10.9% and 10.3% respectively. The North East has suffered the most with prices increasing by just 0.3% in the last two years. The high cost of living in the capital has also taken its toll with London the second worst performer at 1.8%. This is largely due to central London and when split, Inner London price growth falls further to 1.2% while Outer London picks up the pace at 4.1%. The Best Across the UK it’s the Orkney and Shetland Islands that have enjoyed the largest growth since Brexit, up a huge 36.1% in the Orkney’s and 19.9% in the Shetlands. England compiles the rest of the top 10 largest increases with Thanet (18.8%), Harborough (18.4%), Kettering (18.4%), Tendring (17.8%), Maldon (17.7%), Sandwell (17.2%), Blaby (17.2%) and North Norfolk (17.0%). The Worst The City of London has been by far the worst area of the UK for property price growth with a drop of -21.9%. However, with an average house price of over £900,000, homeowners aren’t completely out of pocket. The City of Aberdeen is the second worst and only other area to see a double-digit drop at -12.3%. With an average house price of £1.2 million, Kensington and Chelsea has also seen a notable drop at -7.4%, with the Western Isles (-6.2%), the City of Westminster (-6.0%), Three Rivers (-5.7%), wider Aberdeenshire (-5.4%), Hammersmith and Fulham (-4.4%), Wandsworth (-2.9%) and Southwark (-2.9%) all seeing some of the largest declines in price growth.
Leading apprenticeship provider Develop Training has welcomed news that large employers are now able to transfer their levy funds to other organisations. However, the company cautioned that firms will have to manage the process well to maximise the potential business benefits. It also warned that the move is adding more complexity to a system that many employers have had difficulty in understanding. From May, large employers who pay the Apprenticeship Levy will for the first time be allowed to transfer up to ten per cent of their annual funds to other organisations. It means firms can use some of their unspent levy funding, which would otherwise go to the exchequer, to support smaller employers to take on apprentices. “There are potential business benefits for larger businesses to support firms in their supply chain to take on apprentices. I would recommend working with your chosen supplier and an apprenticeship provider to align the scheme with your own training programmes and to focus the money where it will benefit you both the most. You should be aware that apprenticeships can cover management training as well as the kind of trade-based training traditionally associated with apprenticeships,” said Chris Wood, CEO of Develop Training. “Putting some thought and effort into this process will pay dividends all round, for the large employer, the supply chain business and the apprentices who go through the scheme. As with everything to do with the levy, it makes sense to get expert help and advice from specialists such as ourselves,” he added. Initially, firms will only be able to transfer funds to one organisation. After user feedback from the first phase, they will likely be allowed to split their ten per cent funding into several smaller payments across multiple organisations. The ESFA has advised those transferring the funds to be aware of “the funding rules around transferring apprenticeship funds, which will be published at a later date”. Once a transfer is made, it cannot be refunded. Apart from their own supply chain, levy-paying employers who want to transfer funds can find companies who want money for apprenticeships in a number of ways. These include making contact with an approved Apprenticeship Training Agency such as Develop Training or working with regional partners. After Develop Training’s Industry Skills Forum in November revealed concerns among major employers about the levy, it has been offering advice on the levy process and guidance about the kinds of training that can be provided under the scheme.
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has released a new industry report ‘Procuring for Value’, authored by CLC member, Global Board Director of Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) and industry expert Ann Bentley. This follows the launch of the government’s Construction Sector Deal last week, As the Public Administration & Constitutional Affairs Committee concludes that government procurement policies contributed to the collapse of the Carillion, Ann promotes a sustainable business model for the whole supply chain. The three-pronged approach includes procuring on the basis of whole-life value and performance; measuring and rewarding good performance and; “getting the basics right”, including fairness of cash-flow and reforms to the practice of retentions. Procuring for Value highlights that the industry accounts for over 10% of the UK workforce (the equivalent of £600 billion contribution to the economy per year), while outlining how it needs to change to improve productivity, end user satisfaction and safeguard those in the sector. It also estimates that a more “joined up” approach to procurement could result in a saving of over £ 15 billion per annum. Moreover, the report builds on the Sector Deal’s strategic principles of Digital, Manufacturing and Whole-life Performance and makes practical, long-term recommendations for both government and industry to facilitate change. Following on the Farmer Review published by the CLC in October 2016, the report extends existing government policy to encourage an integrated industry approach. “The Procuring for Value report is a fundamental strand of our policy, outlining the best practice for the industry delivered through standardisation and digital technologies. Construction needs to change. Every rung of the supply chain needs to take responsibility and understand their impact on the industry and the larger financial picture that is at play. The report highlights as an industry how we can do just this,” said Ann Bentley. The Procuring for Value report is available to download from the CLC website here and there will be a number of briefings and roundtables hosted by the CLC for organisations and industry leaders regarding the Construction Deal and the Procuring for Value report.
