INDUSTRY VOICE


Worlds Best Pickpocket booked for BMF Conference


James Freedman, the only person to have picked the pocket of the Governor of the Bank of England, the Prime Minister, and His Majesty the King, will be demonstrating his encyclopaedic knowledge of deception at the BMF All Industry Conference 2023, in Istanbul, next June. They say it takes a thief to catch a thief and James has spent years studying the methods of psychology of conmen and thieves to become a master of the deceptive arts. He now uses digital dexterity and mental agility to entertain and enlighten


audiences with unforgettable performances featuring scams, theft and fraud.


James has made many TV appearances and presents a regular slot on the Channel 5 series Police 5, demonstrating the latest scams and how to avoid them. He has also worked behind the camera both as an advisor on movies and teaching the secrets of deception to award-winning actors.


As a crime prevention specialist, James has advised the Metropolitan Police and was appointed as The UK Fraud


BMF welcomes new energy efficiency taskforce


The BMF has welcomed the announcement in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement of a new Energy Efficiency Taskforce to drive improvements in energy efficiency to reduce the UK’s energy consumption from buildings and industry, and to bring down bills for all.


The BMF has been calling for a long-term National Retrofit Programme to upgrade 29 million UK homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run. With the Government committing £12.6bn in funding- including an additional £6bn from 2025 - the EETF has an


Prevention Ambassador by the City of London Police. In this role he works with police across the UK to raise awareness of modern fraud and stealth crime, using his performance skills and expert knowledge to change awareness of risk and reveal simple ways to defend against modern fraudsters.


BMF CEO John Newcomb said: “These promises to be an entertaining and enlightening session as James demonstrates how easy it is to defeat hi-tech security with low-tech methods, and reveals tools we can use to


ambition to reduce the UK’s energy consumption from buildings and industry by 15% by 2030.


John Newcomb, BMF CEO, said: “Soaring energy bills have focused attention on the need to insulate our homes. The Chancellor has had to make difficult decisions to support our economy, but we are extremely delighted that he has responded to this key issue raised by


Warning on scrapping housing targets


Our colleagues at the Home Builders Federation have written to the Office for Budget Responsibility expressing concern that abolishing the current new build targets will lead to 100,000 fewer homes being built each year - and a £17bn reduction in economic activity.


During the Conservative Party Leadership contests, both former and current prime minister, Liz Truss MP and Rishi Sunak MP,


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said they were strongly opposed to top-down targets in England. The HBF says that abandoning the 300,000 new homes per year target will result in local authorities reducing the number of planned in their districts. The HBF letter to the OBR describes the likely effect of a 100,000 less new homes as around: • £17 billion less economic activity generated;


• £5 billion less spent on supply changes; • £2.8 billion less investment in affordable housing; • £1.2 billion less tax generated. The HBF letter impresses the importance of its volume house- builders to the economy. Previous Housing Ministers were fond of saying that every 100,000 new homes built equated to an extra 1% of Gross Domestic Product.


outwit fraudsters, scammers and cybercriminals.


The BMF All Industry


Conference 2023 takes place in Istanbul 15-18 June, with the support of our headline sponsor Knauf UK.


The final merchant places and supplier packages are selling out fast. Book yours at www. bmfconference.co.uk or contact June.Upton@bmf.org.uk


our industry, which will have economic benefits as well as meeting commitments on carbon reduction made at the COP26 climate conference. “ BMF members are already providing the materials, products and solutions required to create low carbon, energy efficient homes. We are ready to work with the new Taskforce and the wider construction industry to make retrofit a success.”


The BMF welcome the following new members:


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net December 2022


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