Page 4 - Plumbheat Magazine

Comment
Brexit – a need for guidance and reassurance
Since the UK referendum on 23 June 2016, when 51.9% voted to leave the EU, Brexit has been a constant fixture on the front pages. Recent headlines are no different with the BBC leading with “Brexit negotiations have not begun well” and Sir Simon Fraser’s accusations that amid differences inside the cabinet, the UK has been rather ‘absent’ from formal negotiations in Brussels.
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THE UK is scheduled to leave on Friday, 29 March 2019 which in my book is
not too far away but are we any further forward in understanding what the implications will be for us? We hear of hard and soft Brexit, divorce bills costing billions of pounds and Vince Cable claiming that older people who voted
for BREXIT have “completely shafted the young”. Theresa May says that leaving the EU with no deal whatsoever would be better than signing the UK up to a bad one. What will happen to the borders in Northern Ireland and Gibralter? We are living in an uncertain world right now with little guidance and no reassurance. Business or individual, how do we plan our future – what decisions do we make?
As an industry our key concerns must surely be skills shortages, the import and export of materials, regulations
and standards. The Federation of Small Businesses states that SMEs employ 60% of the UK’s private sector employees with 18% of SMEs operating within the
construction industry. The free movement of labour is a valuable asset to the construction industry and with reports claiming that the UK could lose as many as 200,000 EU workers post-Brexit it is likely that the cost of labour will increase which, is a worrying notion for many SMEs who are already facing tight profit margins.
The UK construction industry relies heavily on imports, with 62% of building components and materials coming from the EU. Construction companies are already facing increased materials costs as a result of the falling pound and could incur greater costs through tariffs post- Brexit.
Economic indicators show a ‘noticeable slowdown’ in economic performance and this together with real wages continuing to drop and inflation rising does not instil businesses with confidence. We need guidance! We need reassurance! We need it now! •
Fiona Hodgson, Chief Executive