ECA News VIEW FROM THE LOBBY by Carol Wrench, PR and public affairs manager I
t’s been a busy couple of months since my last report, with u-turns on Feed–in-Tariffs (FITs) and generally more bad news for the economy in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. The reduction in the Feed-in-Tariff with such
staggeringly short notice has done little to instil market confidence, both for the contractor and the consumer, and does not bode particularly well for the rollout of other anticipated initiatives, such as the Green Deal. The ECA reiterated this message strongly in the recent government review, calling for a more sensible reduction to 29p/kWh for sub-4kw installations, rather than the proposed 21p/kWh.
Project boost
While we welcome the government’s commitment to infrastructure projects in the Autumn Statement, these will only boost the economy if payment reaches those in the supply chain. We simply can’t have a situation where firms are forced out of business due to cash flow problems arising from late payment. Currently, central government contracts require main contractors to pay their subcontractors within 30 days – but the same requirement doesn’t exist across the public sector. The ECA is calling for this protection to be extended to all areas of public sector procurement. These infrastructure projects are also a great
Central government contracts require main contractors to pay their subcontractors within 30 days – but the same requirement doesn’t exist across the public sector
2011 ECA circulars
DECEMBER 2011 n Circular 173 2011 – HMRC to launch campaign for electrical sector in 2012. Date published online: 01/12/2011. Category: Finance Matters. n Circular 172 2011 – First phase of the Renewable Heat Incentive is launched. Date published online: 01/12/2011. Category: Environment. n Circular 171 2011 – Ken Livingstone to speak at 2012 ECA Annual Dinner. Date published online: 01/12/2011. Category: ECA Service Updates.
NOVEMBER n Circular 170 2011 – A reminder about Christmas and New Year shutdown dates. Date published online: 24/11/2011. Category: Employee Relations. n Circular 169 2011 – Advice from the Environment Agency on registering as a waste carrier. Date published online: 24/11/2011. Category: Environment. n Circular 168 2011 – Changes in Employment Law. Date published online: 24/11/2011, Category: Employee Relations. n Circular 167 2011 – Final days for ECA Training Fund applications.
Date published online: 24/11/2011. Category: Training. n Circular 166 2011 – Conference on rebuilding Libya and the opportunities for British business. Date published online: 24/11/
2011.Category: Tendering and contract administration. n Circular 165 2011 – Help the ECA respond to the consultation on FITs. Date published online: 24/11/2011. Category: Environment. n Circular 164 2011 – UKTI Conference on Delivery of Olympic Park. Date published online: 16/11/2011. Category: Tendering and contract administration. n Circular 163 2011 – Discounted training and access hire from Nationwide Access. Date published online: 16/11/2011. Category: Training. n Circular 162 2011 – Review of National Occupational Standards (NOS). Date published online: 14/11/2011. Category: Training. n Circular 161 2011 – Entries now open for ECA Edmundson Awards 2012. Date published online: 14/11/2011. Category: Training. n Circular 160 2011 – New Construction Act and Northern Ireland. Date published online: 10/11/2011. Category: Legislation. n Circular 159 2011 – Reminder about revised ESC Best Practice Guide on condition reporting. Date published online: 10/11/2011. Category: Technical.
opportunity for the government to build a lasting skills legacy. Projects like Crossrail, where just three per cent of workers will be apprentices, are missed opportunities. Tying training requirements to procurement would increase the skills base, getting young people into meaningful apprenticeships with industry recognised outcomes and, in turn, helping UK plc to grow.
Campaigns
Bolstering our national campaign is our grassroots lobbying, which got off to a flying start when chairman of the East Region REC, Glenn
Grant, met the Rt. Hon. Eric Pickles MP, Local Government Secretary, to highlight the issue of main contractors withholding payment. As a result, Eric Pickles agreed to raise the issue with the Business Secretary and Chancellor. We will be supporting this local effort by pushing the issue at a central level with government ministers. In February, Mike Thompson of Weblight will be visiting Mark Prisk MP, the Construction Minister, to discuss, amongst other issues, that of cut-out fuses.
Success story Our Wired for Success: ECA Women into Electrical Contracting initiative continues to enjoy great national and regional pick-up. A real coup was when the story was featured online on the BBC News homepage. The story is still live and can be viewed at
www.bbc.co.uk/ news/uk-politics-15543017 In addition, Diane Johnson, ECA skills ambassador and creator of the programme, took part in the Radio 5 Live Breakfast Show, and enjoyed a host of regional radio and newspaper exposure, as well as trade coverage. We will continue to push the story at every opportunity over the next two years.
n Visit
www.eca.co.uk/lobbying for more info on the ECA’s engagement strategy and lobbying.
n Circular 158 2011 – JIB Mediation Services. Date published online: 10/11/2011. Category: Employee Relations. n Circular 157 2011 – Reminder about free asbestos training. Date published online: 10/11/2011. Category: Health and safety. n Circular 156 2011 – New online insurance service from ECIS for Registered Members. Date published online: 10/11/2011. Category: Insurance matters. n Circular 155 2011 – ECA presents at InfoProtect & Network Infrastructure Business Summit. Date published online: 03/11/2011. Category: Technical. n Circular 154 2011 – JIB launches new website. Date published online: 03/11/2011. Category: Employee Relations. n Circular 153 2011 – ECA’s new Business Administration Programme. Date published online: 03/11/2011. Category: Training. n Circular 152 2011 – 17th Edition update examination is changing from 1 January 2012 Date published online: 03/11/2011. Category: Training. n Circular 151 2011 – Consultation published on proposed cuts to PV Feed-in Tariffs. Date published online: 03/11/2011. Category: Environment.
OCTOBER n Circular 150 2011 – Energy Act passes into law. Date published online: 27/10/2011. Category: Environment. n Circular 149 2011 – SummitSkills seeks an independent trustee. Date published online: 27/10/2011. Category: Training. n Circular 148 2011 – ECA Guarantee of Work has been updated. Date published online: 27/10/2011. Category: ECA service updates. n Circular 147 2011 – ECA launches Wired for Success campaign. Date published online: 27/10/2011. Category: ECA service updates. n Circular 146 2011 – Network Rail promises shorter payment times. Date published online: 19/10/2011. Category: Finance matters. n Circular 145 2011 – Access to free asbestos training. Date published online: 19/10/2011. Category: Health and safety. n Circular 144 2011 – ECA’s new Renewables & Microgeneration e-forum enjoys early success. Date published online: 19/10/2011. Category: Environment. n Circular 143 2011 – Successful ending for ‘ZAP’ 10 year safety programme. Date published online: 19/10/2011. Category: Health and safety.
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ECA Today January 2012
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