Cross Party Group Details

Cross Party Group Title:

Construction

Group membership and office holders

Name of Group Chair:

Joyce Watson MS

Names of other Members of the Senedd:

David Rees MS

Mike Hedges MS

Mark Isherwood MS

Delyth Jewell MS

Name of Secretary and Organisation:

CITB (Mark Bodger – CITB / Matt Kennedy – CITB)

Names of other external members and organisations represented:

David Kirby, CIOB (DK)

Malcom Davies, Welsh Government (MD)

Gareth Davies, Knox and Wells (GD)

Gareth Evans, UWTSD (GE)

Gareth Williams, CITB (GW)

Gordon Brown, TfW (GB)

Christopher Hare, Welsh Government (CH)

David Humphrey, Morgan Sindall (DH)

Ifan Glyn, FMB (IG)

Julia Stevens, CITB (JS)

Keith Jones, ICE (KJ)

Ken Pearson, Bluestone Builders (KP)

Mark Hennessey, ASD Build (MH)

Matt Kennedy, CITB (MK)

Owain Jones, TRJ (OJ)

Rob Davies, CITB (RD)

Zak Clark, CITB (ZC)

Other meetings of the Group since the last AGM

Date of Meeting:

06.11.23

Attendees:

Joyce Watson MS (JW) - Chair

Nitesh Patel (NP) – Support Staff

David Kirby, CIOB (DK)

Hefin David, Aelod o’r Senedd | Member of the Senedd (HD)

Malcom Davies, Welsh Government (MD)

Gareth Davies, Knox and Wells (GD)

Gareth Evans, UWTSD (GE)

Gareth Williams, CITB (GW)

Gordon Brown, TfW (GB)

Christopher Hare, Welsh Government (CH)

David Humphrey, Morgan Sindall (DH)

Ifan Glyn, FMB (IG)

Julia Stevens, CITB (JS)

Keith Jones, ICE (KJ)

Ken Pearson, Bluestone Builders (KP)

Mark Hennessey, ASD Build (MH)

Matt Kennedy, CITB (MK)

Owain Jones, TRJ (OJ)

Rob Davies, CITB (RD)

Alexander Member Support Staff (AS)

Owen Thomas, Staff Cymorth yr Aelod  | Member Support Staff (OT)

Zak Clark, CITB (ZC) Click or tap here to enter text.

 

Summary of the issues discussed:

Meeting started at 12:54. JW was not able to welcome everyone to the meeting as another meeting overran, therefore MK began the meeting with HD presenting their report on Transitions to Employment.

HD outlined that he had been working with external partners to develop the report on how the transition from school to employment, from FE to employment and HE to employment was working and the issues surrounding these.

HD said the challenges of having a small team meant that it “would be impossible to speak to everyone” but still felt as though they had a good cross section of the industry. But in future would speak to work-based learning providers and community learning organisations too.

HD outlined that the objectives of the report were set by the Welsh Government and therefore the scope was limited in the number of people they could speak to. The objectives set by the Welsh Government were to review how education providers provide practical work-related experiences and make recommendations, with the idea being to look at how industry transfer initiatives are working.

HD outlined that this meeting was the CPG’s opportunity to say what was, missing from the recommendations or where the recommendations could go further.

HD then presented the report’s recommendations (which are available to view in English here, neu yn Gymraeg yma)

Recommendation 1:

HD highlighted that with the Careers Wales work experience, students weren’t getting an authentic and meaningful experience of the world of work until “perhaps post-16 education” and that the process lacked an effective system and engagement between employers and schools and colleges.

HD outlined that the first stage in aiding that would be for Welsh Government to ensure that FE employers and relevant stakeholders have access to learners that are aged below the age of 16 as well as those above that age – allowing choices to be made early on in their secondary school career.

Recommendation 2:

HD highlighted that there was no large problem when it comes to access to primary education but rather barriers arise around age 11 and are therefore students are unaware of the opportunities available to them when they come to make choices at the age of 16.

Recommendation 3:

HD outlined that the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research (CTER) should work with vocational education providers to reduce fragmentation in the sector and an increase in coordination and clarity.

Recommendation 4:

HD highlighted that the Welsh Government should ensure an offer of meaningful work experience and the need for placements to be made available to all learners aged 14 to 18. HD said that this offer should include tailored work experience for Key Stage 4 learners who are disengaging with education and are at risk of becoming NEET.

Recommendation 5:

HD outlined that work experience placement should be matched as closely as possible to learners’ interests and skills arranged with reference to the learner’s pathway to potential future qualifications and employment and also consider the local labour market, utilising local intelligence and the expertise of regional skills partnerships.

Recommendation 6:

HD said that schools and colleges need to make sure that the offers previously mentioned are available to the students and they are available at an earlier stage.

HD outlined that public sector bodies such as Transport for Wales could take an exemplary lead through the rail degree in engineering at the University of South Wales and stated that once employers start to see the value of these, they may want to step in with funding and support and advice on the kind of apprenticeships and needed to be developed for the future. HD also said that employers should not take on the burden of funding.

Recommendation 7:

HD stated that a conversation needs to take place around the funding for degree apprenticeships and the inequality between the funding rules for regular degrees and degree apprenticeships.

Recommendation 8:

HD highlighted the need for national job coaching for those with additional learning needs, particularly young people with autism looking to go into employment.

Recommendation 9:

HD outlined the element of Welsh Language awareness being expanded within FE.

Recommendation 10:

HD said that the Welsh Government should ensure that opportunities within CWRE are brought in as much as possible to include those learners with protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010; young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, NEETs as well as raising awareness amongst those already most able and talented learners of vocational opportunities that may be available.

HD highlighted that they may do another piece of work on community related work experiences and older practitioners.

MD outlined an issue of the construction industry being perceived with little to no technological skills and HD offered to have a separate meeting with MD on this topic.

MD highlighted that when competing with other sectors to claim demands on the teachers and the awareness of their parents and guardians, they are the first group to engage with. HD also shared this view and added that schools and colleges are frustrated because parents saw vocational education as something secondary to the academic route.

MD stated that Welsh timber is fast growing but not structurally sound, KP added that softwood timber from New Zealand can be grown in the UK and can last up to fifty to sixty years.

KP highlighted that if an apprenticeship were to count as four GCSEs it would give more opportunity for young people to enter at the right level.

KP reflected that there should be a small period at the end of junior schools to look at the future of that individual progressing from school and what they would want to move into by getting employers more involved at that point– but stated that they did not know if that would be possible.

HD outlined that the reason for his attendance was to ask the CPG how to push this forward and make the attendees aware of the report.

JW thanked attendees and apologised for being late.

JW highlighted that the construction industry is not reaching women and ethnic minorities.

JW went on to say that if people understand that they could learn and earn it would drive people into the sector.

JW outlined that some small companies cannot afford to take on the full cost and responsibility of an apprentice.

HD agreed with JW and stated that one issue with the STEM program is that it is largely dominated by men. HD hoped that the work opportunities through Transport for Wales will change that.

HD outlined that the use of designer degree apprenticeships could be used to achieve a more gender and ethnically diverse industry.

HD cited his report, and quoted CBI director Ian Price, “A university designs a degree apprenticeship course and then ways to recruit, when actually what should be happening is that the employers are speaking to the universities, speaking to the colleges (as in the case of) the TfW model and having a degree-apprenticeship that is co-designed and co-funded.” Adding that employers need to see the value in being engage with designer degree apprenticeships – but construction may be different.

HD quoted the Head of FSB Wales Ben Cottam, “if you’ve got that infrastructure and presumption of co-design then that obviously favours larger organisations that have that training specialism within them, and… a lot of the bigger employers will have their own representative through the RSPs, will influence their own RSPs. It would be difficult for us (small firms) to engage that multitude of thousands of businesses and their interests and needs in RSP. The co-design concept is a good one but making it accessible and you know feeding in even the aggregated needs of much smaller businesses is really difficult to do.”

HD linked this back to KP’s comment and highlighted that the report found schools are good at engaging with small businesses as they are more likely to have organic links through the local community.

HD agreed with JW’s comment and added that there is a challenge around that, and the sector needs to realise the complexity and respond accordingly. HD added that there is a challenge for politicians around how to get the government to act.

GE outlined the successes of CITB in this field mentioning that in 2018 CITB worked with the Innovation Centre in Swansea to put together a project that serviced all four areas of education (primary, secondary, higher and further) which was led by a regional contractor. This project outlined some of the emerging roles that were mentioned earlier such as digitisation and emerging technologies, and how local skills integrate with those.

GE posted the link to this in the meeting chat and can be found here.

GE highlighted the use of Minecraft clubs in schools where CITB have hosted competitions where young people could compete to build a new school, stadium, or other types of buildings.

GE outlined that these resources can be used as best practise and could be used to relaunch initiatives with the support of CITB and other funders.

JW thanked GE for the comments made and added that children’s minds are different to that of an adult and finding that it opens the young people’s mind on how to do something instead of just the theory.

MD outlined a project led by the University of South Wales on looking into a ‘healthy home’ that looks beyond a person’s physical health to their well-being.

HD highlighted the reason for the report was to get a blanket approach so that all four areas of education are opening their doors to these ideas.

MK asked HD what additional insight he has had on addressing the number of young people becoming NEET that he could draw on from the research. 

HD outlined that Engage to Change work children with additional learning needs (ALN) and how job coaching would assist those people. HD also mentioned that the problem with doing it universally is cost.

HD said that offering job coaching to everyone is incredibly difficult but offering it in a targeted way to those children ALN, would be a good opportunity and the model is there.

MK highlighted that some issues may be more palatable than others and asked what support the CPG could lend to have an impact on the construction industry.

HD outlined that he would have liked to see James Evans MS at this meeting as he asked questions around degree apprenticeship in the Senedd the week prior to the meeting in addition to Luke Evans MS.

HD reiterated that he would like a meeting with MD and stated that it would be helpful to have a meeting with JS about the progress of the construction degree apprenticeship, how it will work and how it is working.

HD also stated that he would like to look at work-based training providers and what they are doing to enhance the experience beyond the objectives of his report. HD said he was debating suggesting to the Welsh Government that he should do that as an addition to the report because he had feedback that he did not consider work-based training providers, but at the time, they were outside of the remit of the report.

HD highlighted how he would also like to look into community learning – linking this back to MK’s first question and added that there are a number of other avenues he would like to take further on this.

HD outlined how he would like to have a statement from the Minister before the summer of 2024 to see whether these ideas have been taken forward and see what has been done.

JW suggested that when HD has the next update on this, it should be spread more widely so people from other political groups can lobby as well as this CPG.

HD responded by saying that he has plans to speak to James Evans MS and Luke Fletcher MS and stated that he is happy to meet with anyone else on this report.

HD outlined that construction and engineering go hand in hand. On this MD highlighted that a product called Bitco, is the next generation roofing solution for UV panels which Transport for Wales is now trialling its maintenance.

KP then commented that it is going to be more effective than the photovoltaic slates and can be placed on to flat roofs and vertical panels. KP also stated that this is fast moving and will need short training sessions of half a day to understand it.

KP highlighted that more onsite assessment needs to be done as opposed to college as the pupil would spend an extra day per week onsite for more manpower.

HD had to leave the meeting early to prepare for another meeting.

JW thanked HD for attending and invited HD back for another meeting, should he choose to.

JW then spoke of the situation at the end of the last CPG meeting stating that it will not be dropped until there is a satisfactory outcome.

JW stated that she would arrange a date for the next meeting and may get someone from the arts sector to join.

GE commented that something to look into would be the  Velindre hospital as there are some different design concepts and construction methods being used there including biophilic methods.

GE outlined that he could put MK in touch with the right people to discuss this further, if requested.

JW highlighted that when people think of construction they do not think about plumbing, plastering, bricklaying and carpentry. JW also expressed interest in the new roofing panels.

JW thanked the group for coming and asked if there was any other business – none was forthcoming.

JW closed the meeting.

Date of Meeting:

22/04/24

Attendees:

Joyce Watson MS (JW) - Chair

Andrew Eldred, ECA (AE)

Ed Evans, CECA Wales (EE)

Gareth Davies, Knox and Wells (GD)

Gareth Evans, UWTSD (GE)

Gareth Williams, CITB (GW)

Ifan Glyn, FMB (IG)

Jeff Protheroe, Colegau Cymru (JP)

Jill Fairweather, Welsh Government (JF)

Joyce Watson MS, (JW) (Chair)

Kieth Jones, ICE (KJ)

Malcolm Davies, Welsh Government (MD)

Mark Harris, HBF (MH1)

Mark Hennessey, ASD Build (MH2)

Matt Kennedy, CITB (MK)

Mike Hedges MS (MH3)

Niamh Evans, CIOB (NE)

Nicholas Blundell, Unite the Union (NB)

Nitesh Patel, Member Support Staff (NP)

Owain Jones, TRJ (OJ)

Rob Davies, CITB (RD1)

Ryland Doyle, Member Support Staff (RD2)

Simon Phelps, Welsh Government (SP)

Zak Clark (ZC)

 

Summary of the issues discussed:

 Meeting started at 9:53. JW welcomed everyone to the meeting and outlined that Jeremy Miles is now Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Welsh Language.

JW outlined the agenda for the meeting with the first being existing priorities and challenges for the industry.

EE stated that there are large amounts of uncertainty in the economy at large with small amounts of volatility and that budgets seem to be worth less than in previous years.

EE highlighted the large budget constraints across the public sector and that there are things from the public sector approach to risk that could be implemented, however there are aspects, such as trying to transfer risk due to budgetary pressures, that are not healthy.

EE outlined the need for the public and private sector to work more collaboratively in addressing the risk issues.

EE stated that, in terms of infrastructure, there is potential for large opportunities arising around projects such as floating offshore wind and as an industry, construction should take advantage of those opportunities.

EE highlighted three key issues: visibility of work in the public sector, ability to gain work and procurement and availability of skilled people.

EE outlined the need to revisit some of the changes made to the Further Education sector to make better use of social value to incentivise employees to go into schools and support the curriculum and get young people into the industry.

JW thanked EE for presenting and moved to GE.

GE outlined a report published in 2016 and what that was built on was a requirement to build an ecosystem that brought industry and academia together to enable specialist skills to be furthered particularly within Wales.

GE highlighted that the report identified significant gaps in education and since its publication, some areas have been filled.

GE outlined that CITB had championed and funded many projects that have aided the landscape in Higher Education and Further Education.

GE highlighted the challenges behind getting new entrants into the education sector in the form of tutors, lecturers and how industry can help to fill the skills gaps.

GE outlined the need for a coordinated and collaborative approach to revisit some of the opportunities and challenges around centres of excellence and expertise.

GE stated that to increase specialist skills, there will need to be collaboration with CITB and other Welsh institutions in the sector to create a construction education programme in Wales.

JW thanked GE for the points made and asked RD1 to present.

RD1 agreed with GE around the challenges faced in Wales and in industry.

RD1 gave an overview of CITBs Labour Market Intelligence D   ata outlining the skills shortages, across all levels.

RD1 highlighted the successes and challenges around apprenticeships and other recruitment options into industry.

RD1 outlined the need to modernise the industry with new technology.

JW thanked RD1 and welcomed the final speaker IG.

IG gave context around what FMB is and its quarterly surveys with its members.

IG highlighted the impact of the cost of living crisis and inflation on workloads and lack of access to skilled labour and in terms of materials.

IG stated the three areas in which they will be focussing on: house building, skills and retrofit supply chains.

IG outlined that supply is currently not meeting demand and there is a decline in SME house building.

IG highlighted the lack of SME interest largely in post-industrial areas and rural areas due to an unpredictable and complex planning system and therefore carries too much risk.

IG outlined the Competition Market Authority’s market study on house building reflecting concerns and delivery of lack of diversity.

IG highlighted the need to ensure new entrants have opportunities to be assessed in ways that are accessible and relevant to their trade.

IG outlined that Wales has one of the oldest housing stocks in Europe and therefore there is a need to take some lessons from schemes such as the optimised retrofit program and implement them into the private sector.

IG stated that to underpin the program, there must be stable, strong and consistent policy and investment in Wales and suggested the Welsh Government not follow in the footsteps of the UK Government in terms of the retrofit agenda as the current system does not instil confidence in the contractors to invest in the sector.

IG highlighted the need to improve traditional homes through energy efficiency, cavity walls, trapped water et cetera.

JW thanked IG and the other speakers and encouraged a discussion and any questions.

KJ highlighted, from a civil engineering perspective, the largest problem is certainty of work and stated that that has an impact on academics.

KJ thanked the group for their help to the development of a civil engineering degree apprenticeship.

MD outlined that 11 local authorities and 34 registered social landlords have been issued £68 million to procure products and services.

MD provided a link to the Welsh Contractor Dashboard but highlighted that this can only be accessed by Welsh Government Staff.

MD highlighted the case studies that can be found on the Net Zero Carbin Retrofit Hub.

MD outlined the need for industry to understand digitisation and retrofitting.

AE agreed with EE around the procurement system and the business system, which are seen to be hostile to skills development.

AE agreed with RD1 on the CITB data around the lack of progression and stated that the issue in Wales is that the answer is not straightforward and that the data takes up to 18 months to collect which means it cannot be managed in real time.

AE agreed with JW and GE around collaboration between industry and the education sector.

AE suggested that the education sector should decide where the remaining apprenticeship funding is placed and that on a local and national level is industry and colleges talking to each other and getting a sense of where there is demand and mutual reciprocal arrangements.

EE outlined that there is an overarching theme of difficulties with the skills system and stated that it is a collective issue and that the biggest challenge for industry is the current workload and the time taken to train a worker to a competent level.

EE stated that the procurement system needs to be less bureaucratic, more proportionate and easier for SMEs in particular.

EE highlighted that there is something that can be done to improve the delivery of skills and work between businesses and the education sector.

JW thanked everyone for facilitating the discussion and welcomed NE.

NE gave a presentation on an overview of a research that CIOB have recently conducted into employability of those with criminal convictions.

NE stated that the report was put together to raise awareness around some of the barriers people might face when looking to find work in the sector.

NE highlighted that this is a topical issue for the CPG.

NE outlined that the Ministry of Justice does not publish much data around Wales on unspent criminal convictions or in general.

NE highlighted that there are proactive schemes to employ people with criminal convictions in the construction industry.

NE outlined the potential win-win situations for businesses and the opportunities for the individuals who may be struggling with employment.

NE stated that there was a strong appetite to work in the sector.

NE outlined the main reasons as to why an employer may not employ someone with a criminal conviction due to the potential legal risks, business reputation and safety of others onsite.

NE highlighted that lost of businesses would not consider someone at all, if they had a criminal conviction but stated that most could consider someone with an unspent conviction.

NE noted that the companies surveyed were larger in size and thus SMEs may not respond in the same way.

NE outlined the main barrier being stigma and negative perception across society and similarly business confidence and risk concerns.

NE highlights that in some cases businesses did not necessarily feel that they have the assurance that the probation service would provide the right support to hire people if they have just left prison or have recently had a community sentence.

NE stated that there is in some cases client requirements which can cause restrictions.

NE outlined that the prison system is complex and that each prison has its own system and have different opportunities.

NE highlighted that if there are opportunities available there may not be the capacity in the program due to the prison system being overcrowded.

NE outlined that for a business to work with prisons, due to the fragmented nature, they may have to build a relationship with each individual prison.

NE highlighted that there are practical barriers once people leave to start work such as accommodation and commute costs.

NE stated that following this report there were four recommendations to policy makers, qualification providers, industry and CIOB itself.

NE stated that Welsh Government has a responsibility to support prison education and employability. This can be done through consistency around the procurement processes and the removal of any barriers including stigma, equipping those with criminal convictions with meaningful skills that give employers confidence in the individuals.

NE highlighted the need for the skills and training opportunities in prisons do meet the needs of industry.

NE outlined that there has been increased collaboration between the prison service and industry in recent years.

NE directed people to the case studies found in the CIOB report and highlighted the opportunities that it can bring to individuals and businesses.

NE thanked the group and asked that any questions please be emailed to: NEvans@ciob.org.uk

JW thanked NE for presenting and stated that the challenge is that it is the larger contractors taking on this initiative.

JW noted that the key themes from the meeting were around taking forward how businesses and educators can collaborate to meet the needs of industry and highlighting the challenges around the legislation and the link between industry and educators.

JW outlined that she intends meet the presenters outside of this meeting to achieve a greater understanding of the topic before bringing some questions to the Senedd.

JW thanked the group for coming and asked if there was any other business – none was forthcoming. 

JW closed the meeting.

Meeting ended at 11:34

 

Date of Meeting:

08/07/24

Attendees:

Joyce Watson MS (JW) - Chair

Christopher Hare, Welsh Government (CH)

David Humphrey, Morgan Sindall (DH)

David Kirby, CIOB (DK)

Ed Evans, CECA Wales (EE)

Gareth Davies, Knox and Wells (GD)

Gareth Evans, UWTSD (GE)

Gareth Williams, CITB (GW)

Jeff Protheroe, Colegau Cymru (JP)

Jill Fairweather, Welsh Government (JF)

Keith Jones, ICE (KJ)

Malcolm Davies, Welsh Government (MD)

Mark Harris, HBF (MH1)

Mark Hennessey, ASD Build (MH2)

Mark Isherwood MS, (MI)

Matt Kennedy, CITB (MK)

Owain Jones, TRJ (OJ)

Rob Davies, CITB (RD)

Zak Clark, CITB (ZC)

Summary of the issues discussed:

Meeting started at 12:48. JW welcomed everyone to the meeting and outlined that the outcome of the UK General Election was important in many ways, given the flow of funding from Westminster and the various UK wide programmes aimed at aiding economic development.

JW highlighted that during a construction summit, held in North Wales, Jeremy Miles MS spoke clearly about the need for construction skills to be at the forefront of the approach to developing the Welsh economy.

DK outlined research CIOB has conducted around the SME market in Wales looking into the significant challenges in the market, with the research coming off the back of another piece of research published last year “Building Up Wales”.

DK highlighted the key issues around procurement and access to the procurement market for SMEs particularly around skills and training.

DK outlined that the main point made by those who attended a roundtable was that the implementation of the Public Procurement Act was flawed especially at a local authority level.

DK highlighted that the report will be aimed at policymakers and there will be an event taking place in October as some who will receive the report, may not have the time to read it thoroughly.

DK stated that the first thing to focus on would be technical compliance issues as those who had taken part in a survey often had to work with single stage contracts, unrealistic timelines and short tender periods meaning that some SMEs are unable to commit the resources to secure tender.

DK highlighted that participants also noted that they were reliant on third-party factors, the Planning Commission, various local authorities and from different departments that were often siloed.

DK outlined that one participant that took part in a round table stated that construction is the third or fourth most lucrative and industry in Wales, if not the UK, but some might be unwilling to enter the sector at SME level.

DK highlighted that there is a lack of commercial managers in Wales and that those often have to undertake other roles as well or are being headhunted by larger contractors meaning SMEs are missing out.

DK outlined that the Building Safety Act was identified as being confusing and sometimes challenging for SMEs particularly given some divergence between the Welsh and UK government and ensuring that staff are skilled enough to identify the challenges in England and in Wales.

DK stated that the key point was the disconnect between the policy and its implementation and the need to reform the tender process to make it more accessible to SME's.

MK asked DK if there was further analysis in terms of companies operating in urban and rural areas and how that came across in the roundtables.

DK outlined that there is less resource in more rural areas and so that put additional delays on projects and planning applications and also a brain drain from rural areas and there is a struggle to make sure there are projects in those areas to keep the industry afloat.

EE stated that there are so many policy aims about broadening the markets for SME's and yet the practices and the culture surrounding it, really stops them. KJ, MH2 and DK agreed.

DK stated that he would be undertaking some stakeholder engagement while the report is being published and agreed to be in contact with EE.

MI apologised for being late to attend and outlined that during meetings with housing associations, there was a key issue around the concerns about the skills pipelines.

DK agreed with MI and highlighted that SMEs in particular struggle to compete with the salaries and retention packages compared to larger organisations.

CH outlined that he has been working with CITB for the last 12 months to develop degree apprenticeships and launch new apprenticeship programs.

DK highlighted the need for industry, professional bodies, Welsh Government and local authorities to work collaboratively on these issues.

JW thanked DK for presenting and welcomed MD.

MD outlined that some of the work from optimised retrofit program is around monitoring energy and environmental data.

MD highlighted that there is currently a housing crisis and that a conversation has started around other versions of the Welsh carbon hub in the British Isles, Northern Scotland and England.

MD outlined that in terms of retrofit, it’s not just about making new things, but looking at what has worked in the past but may have received negative press.

MD highlighted that industry and government needs to become comfortable with what works and not being frightened by stories of where things may have gone wrong.

MD stated that the insurance sector has “suddenly woken up to all this” and some have voiced concerns about insuring batteries in buildings.

MI apologised as he was unable to attend the full meeting and outlined that not only is the challenge in progressing new homes to the planning system and access to good sites and the contractor market and labour skills shortage, including retrofit under material shortage, they're struggling with Welsh Government aspirations over decarbonisation and the ability to deliver.

MD offered to catch up with MI outside of this meeting on this topic.

JW outlined that insurance companies used to have an understanding within their teams at what stage projects were at and when they could start to ensure it.

MH stated that there is a larger issue around potential new building regulations in 2025 that could worsen the shortage.

MD highlighted the need to change the vocabulary when it comes to new policy/training programs as it can cause confusion within and between employers.

JW thanked MD for presenting.

Moving on to focus on the future arrangements for meetings of the CPG, MK outlined that after the summer recess, there would be two meetings per year, with a more topic-focussed discussion and deep dives into key issues.

MK highlighted the need to consult with members of this group over summer to make these meetings as meaningful as possible for all colleagues attending.

MK outlined that CITB has been secretariat for many years and it would be good to have input from other organisations who have expressed interest in that role.

In closing remarks, JW highlighted that the new UK government has already made some large statements around construction and there are opportunities for the construction industry.

JW offered to host something in the autumn term, at the earliest, on the opportunities surrounding the new UK government. MD offered to help JW with this.

JW thanked the group for coming and asked if there was any other business – none was forthcoming.

JW closed the meeting.

Meeting ended at 13:56.

Professional lobbyists, voluntary organisations and charities the Group have met during the previous year.

[names of lobbyists/organisations/charities should be included as follows, e.g.]

Name of Organisation:

CIOB

Knox and Wells

UWTSD

CITB

TfW

Morgan Sindall

FMB

ICE

Bluestone Builders

ASD Build

TRJ

ECA

CECA Wales

Colegau Cymru

HBF

ASD Build

Unite the Union

 

Name of Group:

Click or tap here to enter text.

Name of Organisation:

Click or tap here to enter text.

Name of Group:

Click or tap here to enter text.

 

Annual Financial Statement

Cross Party Group Title:

Construction

Date:

21/08/24

Name of Chair:

Joyce Watson MS

Name of Secretary and Organisation:

CITB

Title	Description	Amount
Group’s Expenses	None	£0.00
Costs of all goods	No goods bought	£0.00
Benefits received by the group or individuals members from external bodies	No benefits received.	£0.00
Any financial support or other support.	No financial support was received.	£0.00
Total		£0.00

Services provided to the Group, such as hospitality.

All hospitality paid for [include the name of the group/organisation].

Date	Name and description of provider	Costs
N/A	N/A	£0.00
Total		£0.00