COMMENT
Spend and save (the economy)
W
ell. Where to start? It’s not often that I begin this column with such riches from which to pick a topic. Do I start with Boris Johnson’s bonanza building promises: build back bigger, build back better and build, build, build? Or with Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s delve into his seemingly limitless pockets in order to scatter money around willy-nilly at the economy? Perhaps I should begin with Son of Green Deal – the voucher scheme to boost home insulation and energy efficiency, safeguarding jobs in that industry at the same time?
As I write this, we are only just at 109 days since the UK went into lockdown on March 23. In some ways this seems as though it happened only yesterday, in others I feel as though this has been our way of life for forever. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t head to the shops and mentally tick off things on a list in my head: carrier bags and bags-for-life, check; shopping list, check; bankcard (not cash), check; face-mask, check; hand-sanitiser, check.
However, in those 100+ days much has changed for businesses and for individuals. Many people found their incomes reduced: those who were put on furlough weren’t the only ones to have taken on a 20% pay cut as businesses struggled to keep the cashflow going. In the meantime, the sun shone and hundreds of people who should have been in work and school partied like it was 1999.
It has to end sometime of course and that day comes in October. At that stage businesses are going to have to take a long, hard look at their staffing levels and make some tough decisions. Decisions that might be in the best interests of the long-term future of the businesses, but which will have some short-term pain – emotional as well as financial – for
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some. Indeed, we have already seen evidence of that happening in this industry and others. Which, of course, is why the lovely Rishi has decided to dig deep once again and is helping out businesses that ‘unfurlough’ staff with a £1,000 bonus as long as they keep them on until January. Is it just me being cynical or does anyone else think we will see another raft of redundancies in January? Maybe, and I guess Sunak is banking on this, the economy will have improved so much by then that this won’t happen. If it’s not better then it won’t be for the lack of trying on the Chancellor’s part. The home improvement vouchers under the Green Homes Grant will, hopefully, be used to a) boost the energy efficiency of some of the worse culprits in terms of energy-leaky homes and b) boost revenue to the coffers of those who make, sell and install insulation and boilers, heat pumps etc. The stamp duty cut should lubricate the housing sector, freeing up cash around transactions, activity on which generates revenue across a wide range of allied sectors. The huge amount of money being promised in order to build, build, build is nice, but many of those infrastructure projects are still at the planning stage, some still on the drawing board. Few are actually ‘shovel ready’.
My main concern and questions about all this are: Where the hell is this money coming from? And how long are we and the generation that comes after us, going to have to pay for this largesse? There will be an economic reckoning and it ain’t going to be pretty. In the meantime, of course, we can all make ourselves feel better about being able to kick-start the economic recovery with a cheeky Nandos on a Tuesday evening.
Fiona Russell-Horne Editor-in-Chief - BMJ
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COMMENT
We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes, This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile
Paul Laurence Dunbar
CONTENTS 4 The Month What’s been going on in the industry this month
6 BMJ INDUSTRY AWARDS 2020 Finalists and sponsors for our digital, virtual event
9 People Who’s now working where?
10 Business Helpdesk The BMF embraces online delivery of forums and training.
12 News Extra
What lessons are there from the CMA investigation into lead.
14 Merchant Focus How Graham approaches its management training programme
16 Sealants and Adhesives
Trends and developments 19 Roofing
The news from the sector 22 Plumbing
The rise of the multi-layered pipe.
23 Company Focus Made in Britain: Wallsall’s wheelbarrows
24 BMF Industry Voice The news from the BMF
26 Product News The latest innovations.
30 And FInally News and the crossword.
July 2020
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net 3 ”
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