NEWS


Aukus agreement ‘historic opportunity to boost UK defence manufacturing’


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MB Union has today welcomed the news that vital manufactur- ing and design elements of the new Aukus defence pact will be undertaken in the UK, by highly skilled and unionised workers. GMB is calling on the UK Government to now fully grasp the opportunities presented by the trilateral security pact, including ensuing investment in the people, skills and infrastructure that will make this agreement a reality.


Matt Roberts, GMB National Officer, said:


“GMB is unashamedly pro-defence and have been urging the UK Government to make the strong case for UK defence manufacturing and shipbuilding in the Aukus negotiations.


“In Barrow-in-Furness and in Derby, GMB Union members are at the cutting edge of defence design and manufacturing. “As their union we welcome the news of a central role for UK defence manufacturing in this agreement, working closely with our Australian allies.


“It is crucial that UK skills utilisation is maximised in the coming years. GMB is calling on the Government to invest in the infra- structure and people that will deliver this agreement.”


Construction employment expected to fall for first time since 2014, due to ‘perfect storm’ of a declining housing market


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he latest research by tax specialists, RIFT, has


highlighted how a cooling housing market is likely to spell trouble for the UK construction sector, with a potential decline in employment levels on the cards for the first time since 2014.


Aggreko Invests £150m into European Fleet over 2022-23


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ollowing the announcement of its One Europe strategy late last year, global provider of modular power, temperature control and energy solutions, Aggreko, has confirmed a £150m investment into its European fleet this year.


The majority of this investment is centred on the business’ ongoing Greener Upgrades portfolio, comprising of new boilers, Stage V generators, batteries and chillers.


Greener Upgrades is Aggreko’s commitment to helping companies choose the most efficient and sustainable solutions to meet their net zero ambitions. It is a portfolio of newer technologies and solutions which lower carbon emissions, NOx and deliver fuel savings. The new fleet is available from Aggreko’s depots across Europe and strategically placed to address local challenges and support flexibility of supply chains. Regions include Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.


Aggreko partners, consults, and delivers for different industries across the world, including data centres, manufacturing, petrochemical and construction. According to its sector experts, most of these energy decision makers are increasingly conflicted by balancing planet with profitability. As such, Greener Upgrades is designed to simplify the decision making process so businesses can make small switches that make a big difference. This could be displacing a 200 kVA generator for a smaller one with a battery, to much larger decentralised energy projects using load on demand configuration to improve efficiency.


Aine Finlayson, Director of Product Management and Manufacturing, comments: “Greener Upgrades has been a real step-change for our customers and business in the UK, but there is still so much more to achieve together. The nature of our inbound enquiries has seen a fundamental shift lately, with more people wanting to now minimise risk, save on running costs and meet sustainability goals all at the same time. Our business model is structured to confidently respond to these challenges, but most importantly while keeping things simple for energy decision makers in a time of extreme complexity.”


All signs are currently pointing towards a slowing property market across the UK. The latest figures on the level of new homes reaching the market shows that housing delivery is down by -2.6% across the UK when compared to the pre-pandemic market. A look at homebuyer appetites shows that so far in 2023, buyers are snapping up just 43% of available stock on the market, down from 60% in 2022 and 63% in 2021. Figures on mortgage approvals also support this downward trend where buyer activity is concerned, with the number of approvals having already fallen by 20% between 2021 and 2022.


This is partly due to the fact that, following September’s mini budget, the number of higher loan to value products available to buyers was dramatically reduced. In fact, available mortgage products with an LTV of 85% or higher account for just 15% of all products currently available, meaning that buyers are having to stump up considerably higher deposits.


All of these factors combined have seen house prices start to fall in recent months, with Nationwide’s House Price Index showing that they have fallen on a month to month basis every month since September of last year.


But what does this mean for the construction industry? Well, a lack of appetite amongst buyers is sure to deter developers from bringing stock to market at a time when their profit margins are likely to take a hit. The knock on effect of subdued housebuilder activity is, of course, less homes under construction and, therefore, less demand for those working within the construction industry. As it stands, it’s thought that


just over 1.391m people are currently employed across the UK construction sector. This is the highest total seen this side of the Millennium. However, while this total level of employment has seen consistent year on year growth since 2015, the rate of growth has also been slowing steadily and in 2021, remained flat (0%) versus the previous year.


With the wider housing market now also on the turn, it is likely that the number of those within the construction sector could be set to fall for the first time since 2014. CEO of RIFT, Bradley Post, commented: “We’ve just witnessed an incredible period of boom where the UK housing market is concerned and this high demand from homebuyers has helped push the number of those working within the construction sector to its highest this Millennium.


However, we have seen signs that this boom period is coming to an end, with employment growth across the sector stalling on an annual basis.


With many indicators suggesting that the UK housing market is now starting to cool, we expect the nation’s big housebuilders to tread with more caution over the coming year and this will inevitably mean less demand for those working within the construction sector leading to a reduction in employment levels.


While it is certainly not a long- term fix, those anticipating a reduction in work are advised to check they have been rightfully paid what they are owed, especially when it comes to the tax refund owed by HMRC for additional costs such as travel between sites, as well as food and board when doing so.


Construction is one of the primary sectors that is often short changed in that respect and those who haven’t claimed previously are able to backtrack these expenses over a four year period.


FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS | MARCH 2023 5


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