The government has issued its response to Mark Farmer’s ‘Modernise or Die: The Farmer review of the UK construction labour model’ but has stopped short of introducing its controversial recommendation to implement a client charge for those firms who fail to invest in skills and innovation.
In February 2016, Cast CEO, Mark Farmer, was commissioned by the Construction Leadership Council, at the request of the ministers for Housing & Planning & Skills, to undertake an independent review of the UK’s construction labour model. It looked in particular at the skills pressures and other constraints that limit housebuilding and infrastructure development in the UK.
The resulting report called for radical steps to be taken to address the sector’s longstanding problems. In its response, the Department for Business, Energy, & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has backed most of Mr Farmer’s ten recommendations but was reluctant to support the call to charge those companies who fail to voluntarily adopt the changes required.
Apprenticeship and Skills Minister Anne Milton has written to CITB Chairman, James Wates, to inform him of the government’s decision to allow the organisation to continue hold levy-raising powers. In its response to this proposal, the government stated: ‘the introduction of a client charge to encourage and fund modernisation could risk damaging developer confidence and increasing costs, at least in the short term.’
It said its focus would instead be on implementing other measures and supporting steps the industry could introduce following the Farmer Review.
See links at UK Gov
See more background at DBW
See DBW’s interview with Mark Farmer
Read more at UK Construction Media
