Over the last six years the FMB has run the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group (CPG) on Construction. In 2018, I was voted as the CPG’s Secretary by MSPs and a range of construction industry stakeholders. Since then, alongside the Convener Monica Lennon MSP, I have shaped the work of the group and focused on areas that matter to FMB members. These have included:
- Scotland’s apprenticeship system: and the current training provision for the construction industry.
- The materials and supply chain constraints impacting the industry and its clients.
- The challenge and opportunity for local builders in de-carbonising our built environment.
Licence to Build
On 6 November I presented to the group about the FMB’s campaign: Licence to Build. Since we launched the campaign in 2018 a lot has changed. In England and Wales the Building Safety Act came into force in 2023 and in Scotland work is ongoing on strengthening the building standards system. This September, the Grenfell Phase 2 report was published with one of the recommendations being:
‘We therefore recommend that a licensing scheme operated by the construction regulator be introduced for principal contractors wishing to undertake the construction or refurbishment of higher-risk buildings.’
So the time was right for the FMB to lead a presentation and discussion on licensing construction in the Scottish Parliament. There remains strong support from FMB members in the UK having a licensing system for construction, with over 80% supporting licensing. But what do our policymakers and other construction industry groups think? Well we got a good indication after my presentation.
The verdict
In short, there was support in the Parliament for toughening things up. As we know, in every nation of the UK, any person or company is legally allowed to undertake construction work without having to demonstrate a minimum level of competence. This leads to a shadow economy flourishing: basically rogue builders taking cash-only payments, undercutting our members, who are professional builders.
Most agreed that it was the domestic building sector that would benefit most from licensing but as I pointed out, larger commercial contractors have been responsible for some tragic and notorious building failures, Grenfell being the most prominent.
To bring a UK perspective, our Chief Executive Brian Berry shared where the FMB is with the Westminster Government and answered questions from MSPs. Now consumer protection is a reserved matter to Westminster but the building standards system in Scotland is separate to the one south of the border. This all matters because a licensing system for construction in Scotland would need to dovetail with the building standards system in Scotland.
The FMB is plugged into the relevant areas and working groups in Scotland on strengthening the building standards system. The Building Standards Futures Board being one. There is a lot more work to be done and we await to see how the UK Labour Government will work with the FMB on licensing construction.
Stepping down
The meeting on 6 November was my last one as the Secretary of the CPG on Construction. Six years was enough! It was pleasing to have FMB members and our CEO attend for my last meeting with Robert Wilson and Alastair Raitt voicing their views as the bosses of construction firms in the discussion on licensing. At the end of the meeting, Monica Lennon MSP said:
‘Gordon has done the FMB huge credit during his time as our Secretary. He ensured the group functioned through COVID and I enjoyed working with him. Thankfully, the FMB remains a member of the group, so I am sure we will see Gordon at future meetings.’
Authors
Gordon Nelson
Director, Federation of Master Builders Scotland
