NFB manifesto 2017: believe in Britain’s SMEs
National Federation of Builders
The National Federation of Builders (NFB) has unveiled its manifesto ahead of the next general election on 8 June 2017.
The NFB believes that the next government should devote to tackling the greatest challenges of our generation: the housing crisis and a shrinking skilled workforce.
Richard Beresford, chief executive of the NFB, said: “Small and medium-sized (SME) builders are the key to addressing the construction industry’s long-term problems. The next government should help create a market where the best businesses succeed, no matter what their size. In short we need a government that believes in Britain’s SMEs.”
The NFB calls on the incoming government to fix broken housing policy, procure better value, and invest in Britain’s SMEs.
Fix broken housing policy
The Government has already admitted the housing market is “broken” and hopes that the Housing White Paper will start a revolution leading to increased and more diverse house building. Any new government wishing to deliver more than 200,000 homes every year will need to: speed up and simplify planning, tackle the spiralling cost of land, continue improving access to finance, and harness the intrinsic value of SMEs in tackling the skills crisis.
Procure better value
The next government will need to work alongside the industry to further unleash the power of local and regional business. Public spending must deliver the highest quality projects, whilst representing value for taxpayers’ money. SMEs are in the perfect position to deliver on that ambition, but public procurement must be simplified and made more inclusive.
Invest in Britain’s SMEs
The incoming government should focus its industrial strategy to make a success of Brexit by ensuring that our best businesses have access to the finance and opportunity they need to drive growth. Construction SMEs are used to adapting quickly to changing circumstances and the same will be true with regard to our exit from the EU.
The complete NFB manifesto 2017 can be found online by clicking here.
