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BMF Questions the Minister of Housing


BUILDING 100,000 EXTRA new homes adds 1% to GDP and is a key component of the Government’s “levelling up” agenda, Christopher Pincher MP, Minister for Housing in England, told the BMF last month. The BMF took part in a virtual meeting of the All- Party Parliamentary Group for SME House-Builders, chaired by Andrew Lewer, MP for Northampton South. Mr Pincher gave a stout defence of the


controversial Planning White Paper to an audience of MPs and industry leaders. He re-iterated the aim to build 300,000 homes per


year in England by the mid-2020s. The Minister said he has received 44,000 replies to the consultation. The BMF reminded the Minister it was exactly 30 years since Environment Secretary, Nicholas Ridley, coined the term “NIMBY” at the Conservative Party Conference in Bournemouth in 1990. We asked Mr Pincher what in the White Paper did he think will help combat local resistance to much-need housing, where voters actually want to live, at


The rise in vans and clean air zones


THE DEPARTMENT FOR Transport has released its latest vehicle statistics that include traffic estimates, vehicle types and miles travelled. The BMF has studied the figures for Great Britain’s vans and the provisional findings for 2019- 2020 reveal important trends: • most privately-owned vans (81%) were second-hand. • over two-thirds (67%) of vans travelled on local roads regularly, 4 days or more per week.


• half of vans (50%) in Great


Britain stayed local, within 15 miles of their base, on a typical day.


Traffic estimates show that van travel has grown substantially over the last 25 years - increasing 106% to 55½ billion vehicle miles in 2019. Van travel as a proportion of all road miles has jumped from 10% to 16% over the same period. The findings also show that vans are predominately diesel (96%) with ultra-low emission vans being only 0.3% of the fleet. Vans must be central to the thinking behind Clear Air Zones


BMF’s Task Force role confirmed as CLC moved to next stage


THE BMF, IN partnership with businesses across the sector, has received approval under the government’s £2bn Kickstart scheme for 143 work placements. The placements are among the first to be approved in the construction industry, and the BMF is preparing to make a further application before Christmas, to help more members participate in the scheme.


Kickstart is the government’s tool


to enable employers throughout Great Britain to offer high-quality, 6-month work placements to young people aged 16-24 who are on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment. Some 60 member companies, including the BMF itself, have applied to participate in the scheme so far. The BMF’s Apprenticeship Plus team is now liaising with local DWP work coaches to find the best candidates for the initial


January 2021 www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net


that local councils are preparing to introduce next year. SMEs face disproportionate costs to make a switch away from older, polluting vehicles to modern, cleaner & greener models. That is why the BMF argues for financial assistance to help van owners. Without it, trade customers will doubtless go elsewhere and buy from merchants outside Zones - affecting sales in towns & cities. This increase in vans underlines that a ‘quick win’ on pollution could be to retrofit or replace diesel vans.


placements.


BMF CEO, John Newcomb said: “This is an outstanding opportunity to showcase our industry and find future talent, particularly amongst young people who have lost previous positions in retail due to the pandemic.”


The placements cover a range of assistant roles embracing the whole spectrum of merchanting - merchants yard, warehouse, trade counter, driver’s mate, accounts, HR and admin. Each role has a training programme attached covering employability skills, industry specific training and BMF


Building Blocks.


The BMF will be submitting a further application for Kickstart supported placements before Christmas. Employers can claim 100% of the National Minimum Wage, up to 25 hours, plus the associated employer National Insurance and minimum automatic enrolment contributions. BMF Apprenticeship Plus provides a fully managed gateway service making it as simple as possible for all BMF members to participate.


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prices they can afford. His answer was:


• local engagement that is done properly and early in process by house-builders.


• putting the right infrastructure in place upfront - e.g. primary school or GP surgery - so residents see an immediate benefit as the homes are being built.


Christopher Pincher MP has met the BMF before and we gave a full response to the consultation that closed at the end of October.


The BMF welcome the following new members:


BMF DIARY DATES


In light of the continuous changes to events due to COVID-19 precautions, please check the BMF website at www. bmf.org.uk for all the latest news and events updates in this ever-changing environment.


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