Kirsty Williams AM

Let's get Wales building - Kirsty

Kirsty Williams, AM for Brecon and Radnorshire called on the Welsh Government to take urgent action to stimulate the construction industry in Wales at the launch of the 'Get Wales Building' campaign.

The campaign, which makes up the biggest coalition in the building industry's history, was launched in the Welsh Assembly to demand that the Welsh Government does all it can to prevent 300,000 predicted job losses in the UK construction sector and to create a framework in which small construction businesses can survive in the recession. The 'Get Wales Building' coalition, spearheaded by British Precast, the Builders Merchants Federation, the Federation of Master Builders and the Modern Masonry Alliance is demanding that the Welsh Government supports its Ten Point Manifesto to get Wales building again.

The campaign has cross party support and argues that current Welsh government proposals do not go far enough in tackling the real problems affecting the Welsh construction industry and the wider housing sector. The Get Wales Building Manifesto is calling on the Government to help the beleaguered construction industry survive the worst recession since 1980 by creating a new business environment framework in which they can work. The Manifesto includes a plea to get banks lending again; a government strategy to refurbish the UK's 26 million homes to make them more energy efficient; encourage the UK Government to cut VAT to 5 per cent for property maintenance; a major increase in new social housing and a defined timetable to complete the Government's planned investment in new schools and hospitals.

Kirsty said: "People and businesses across Wales are being hit hard by the recession, with job losses and businesses folding. This comes at a time when we have a huge demand for affordable housing - this is especially the case across Powys. Welsh housing waiting lists for social housing are topping 83, 000 households. By getting Wales building we will have the multiple benefits of providing economic stimulus for businesses; job opportunities across a wide range of trades; and homes for those who desperately need them.

"It doesn't have to just be about building new homes - by reducing VAT on building repairs to 5% it will allow people to invest and improve their homes - making them more energy efficient and saving money in the long term.

"Small and medium sized enterprises are the backbone of our economy and are being hit the hardest. During the last recession the UK construction industry lost over 500,000 skilled jobs, we are calling upon the Welsh and Westminster Government's to prevent this from happening this time around.

"If we can get Wales and the UK as a whole building we can give a desperately needed boost to the economy, save thousands of construction jobs, avoid serious skills shortages and help stimulate long term market stability whilst helping to address our housing shortage."

Notes

Indicators now demonstrate that many firms in the construction sector will struggle to survive in the current market:

Building prices plummeted 7.5% in last quarter of 2008

90,000 predicted job losses for SME builders

300,000 construction jobs predicted to be lost across the sector

House building at its lowest level since 1924

House prices have fallen by 16% to date

A record 4.5 million people on council house waiting lists.

Average monthly value of new orders between May and November 2008 slumped to £2.17 billion (at 2000 constant prices), compared with £2.84 billion in 2007 and £2.87 billion in 2006, a fall of 25 per cent

According to the FMB State of Trade Survey for Q4 2008, 60% of FMB companies had reported a fall in workloads, a fall for the fourth consecutive quarter.

According to the FMB State of Trade Survey for Q4 2008, Expectations for the future remain downbeat with 61% expecting lower workloads in quarter one 2009.

According to the FMB State of Trade Survey for Q4 2008, 71% of private house builders reported fall in workloads.

Eight construction companies are going insolvent every day, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It is against this background that the Get Wales Building campaign is calling on the Government to put into action its 10 point manifesto.

The 10 point manifesto to Get Wales Building

1. The UK Government must cut VAT from 17.5 per cent (15 per cent for the next 13 months) to 5% for all building repair and maintenance work.

2. The Welsh Assembly must rapidly develop and implement a coherent strategy to deal with the existing housing stock in Wales and move quickly to implement the recommendations of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report on rural housing in Wales; bringing empty homes back into use and making Wales' existing housing stock more energy efficient.

3. UK Government and the banks must ensure the swift return of responsible lending to prudent borrowers, coupled with the reintroduction of mortgage interest tax relief.

4. The Welsh Assembly must set targets for all Welsh local authorities to identify and release land for social housing sufficient to ensure completion of 6,500 units of affordable housing by 2011, as recommended in One Wales.

5. Central Government must work closely with devolved administrations to drive forward planning reform.

6. Central Government must work closely with devolved administrations to publish public sector spending plans for construction and maintenance of schools, hospitals and prisons to ensure that these projects are completed on schedule.

7. Planning authorities must introduce a section 106 agreement holiday with a subsequent cap on their value; abandon any plans to adopt the proposed Community Infrastructure Levy, in order to make homes more affordable and stimulate development.

8. Public sector bodies must pay their contractors in accordance with Government guidelines and ensure through contract terms that contractors pay their subcontractors with the same punctuality.

9. The Government must reform stamp duty so that it is only applied to the proportion of the value of the house which is in excess of the taxation threshold.

10. The Government must reintroduce empty property rate relief.

• The Welsh Liberal Democrats support the 10 point Manifesto except for calls for a 106 agreement holiday. They also support calls to reintroduce empty property rate relief for non domestic buildings but not for domestic building as the Welsh Lib Dems believe that there should be pressures on owners and landlords to free up housing for the large numbers of people desperately in need of accommodation.