THE Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has set out what it believes is required to drive economic growth, in its submission to HM Treasury as part of the UK Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review.
The Spending Review is the process the government uses to set all departments’ budgets for future years. The CPA has illustrated how its members are ‘at the forefront of new innovations and cutting-edge technologies’ in construction.
Key recommendations and highlights include:
- Reducing government duplication of effort and resource in areas such as net zero and decarbonisation policy, while also providing appropriate resource across government;
- Enhancing digitalisation of government services;
- Ongoing development of the industrial strategy, and the creation of the National Infrastructure & Service Transformation Authority (NISTA);
- Infrastructure delivery at both national and local level, and planning reform;
- Ongoing reform of the skills landscape.
The CPA’s submission states: “Addressing the challenges in the public finances cannot and should not come by putting at risk the very businesses that create the wealth needed to finance the public sector. Long-term stability in the business tax regime is needed. This means creating a business environment that encourages entrepreneurs and does not punish them with short-term, poorly thought through changes to the tax system.
“The government’s current policies undermine efforts to create long-term sustainable growth with an inherent contradiction between planning reform and infrastructure investment, against increased business taxes and further employment costs on business. This sends at best, mixed messages to the business community.”
The CPA’s full submission can be downloaded from the CPA website at https://www.cpa.uk.net/news/submission-to-hm-treasury-as-part-of-government-s-comprehensive-spending-review
