Apprenticeship guarantees for school leavers, a commitment to building 200,000 homes a year, support for HS2 and protection of schools budget are some of the construction-related plans in Labour’s pre-election manifesto.
Industry and professional bodies including the CIOB, RIBA and ICE have been giving their responses to the proposals in Britain can be better which was published yesterday (13 April).
CIOB public affairs & policy manager, Eddie Tuttle, was positive about the manifesto saying: “The commitment to building new homes and the intention to establish an independent National Infrastructure Commission are welcome boosts for the construction industry."
If Labour forms the government after the election it will “guarantee every school leaver that gets the grades an apprenticeship”. This will be achieved through every firm getting a major government contract – and every large employer hiring skilled workers from outside the EU – being required to offer apprenticeships.
Labour also intends to use powers to “deal with any free-riding employers who do not train.”
Echoing the House of Commons Education Select Committee report released in March it will refocus existing spending away from low-level apprenticeships for older people, and towards a system where apprenticeships are focused on new job entrants.
The manifesto includes a strong emphasis on housing, with a commitment to build at least 200,000 homes a year by 2020 and implementing the recommendations of the Labour-commissioned Lyons Review.
In 2014, the UK built 141,000 homes. Labour’s target of 200,000 homes is more modest than many campaign groups would like to see, with 240,000 often cited as a sustainable target.
"Labour’s commitment to protect the schools budget must be accompanied by an acknowledgement of the need to invest in the UK’s schools estate. We face a growing shortage of school places, and 80% of our school buildings are in poor condition, failing the students and teachers trying to learn and teach in them."
Stephen Hodder, RIBA
Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, reacted positively to the manifesto saying: “Although the Labour Party’s 2010 manifesto placed a clear emphasis on the importance of increasing home ownership and providing better, more affordable housing, this manifesto explicitly recognises that building more homes is the only route to achieving this – we also have a clear target of building 200,000 new homes a year by 2020.”
However, RIBA president Stephen Hodder wanted to see more from the manifesto, saying: “The RIBA believes that, to deliver truly affordable housing, the government needs to remove the local authority borrowing cap on Housing Revenue Account receipts.”
Labour also declared its support for the £42bn HS2, as well as its intention to “take action to improve and expand rail links across the north to boost its regional economies as well as support long-term investment in strategic roads, address the neglect of local roads, and promote cycling”.
The party also promised to “make a swift decision on expanding airport capacity in London and the south east, balancing the need for growth and the environmental impact.”
But a commitment to set up an independent National Infrastructure Commission met with a lukewarm response from Nick Baveystock, director general of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE): “Certainty is generated through consistency and continuity in infrastructure policy. While the National Infrastructure Commission proposal is well-argued and we agree some form of independent body is needed to stand infrastructure decisions above political fault lines, we remain concerned that creating a new entity from scratch could stall momentum and shake confidence.”
Although the party intends to protect the entire education budget – ie early years, schools and post-16 education – in line with inflation, there was no specific commitment to investing in constructing and renovating school buildings.
RIBA’s Hodder added: “Labour’s commitment to protect the schools budget must be accompanied by an acknowledgement of the need to invest in the UK’s schools estate. We face a growing shortage of school places, and 80% of our school buildings are in poor condition, failing the students and teachers trying to learn and teach in them. Well-designed buildings improve well-being and cut maintenance costs – vital to the long-term future of the UK’s education system.”
Other measures proposed include:
- Cutting the deficit every year and balancing the books as soon as possible in the next Parliament.
- Increasing the National Minimum Wage to more than £8 an hour by October 2019 and introducing Make Work Pay contracts to provide tax rebates to firms becoming Living Wage employers.
- Banning exploitative zero-hours contracts.
- Guaranteeing an apprenticeship for every school leaver who attains the grades and requiring any firm that gets a large government contract to offer apprenticeships.
- Reducing university tuition fees to £6,000 a year.
