Nations

Devolution to Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast began in earnest after 1997, with the subsequent establishment of the parliaments, assemblies and devolved administrations that we see today. More powers and responsibilities have since been transferred. But each nation has different levels of legislative, administrative and budgetary competence. The UK Government has kept certain policy areas as ‘reserved’ or ‘excepted’ to London like taxation and social security.

During Covid-19, the Devolved Administrations used their powers differently to the UK Government in London. Each nation had its own roadmap that involved different approaches, stricter messaging, compulsory policies backed in law, and variable review dates & timings, as local conditions (like the R-Number) dictated. But when First Ministers tightened or eased the restrictions, we gave BMF members the necessary advice or guidance straightaway.

Wales

BMF members account for approx. £928 million annual sales, employ more than 3,000 people, and trade from 280 locations in Wales.

The Welsh Senedd and Welsh Government have devolved responsibilities for:
- economic development
- climate change, net zero & energy-efficiency
- education, training & skills
- manufacturing
- construction & infrastructure
- transport
- housing & planning
- water & flood defence.

Collaboration

The BMF is a member of the Wales Construction Federation Alliance, an industry collective of trade associations, employers’ federations and professional bodies that represent Welsh companies active today in the construction, house-building & property RMI markets. https://www.cewales.org.uk/latest-news/now-get-out/

The BMF also participates in the Welsh Construction Forum, a joint private-public sector initiative that brings together government, construction and social partners. The aim is to support the foundational economy in Wales to ‘build back better’ for a greener, zero carbon economy - and to develop the low-carbon skills that Wales needs. https://businesswales.gov.wales/welsh-construction-forum

Government

Before being elected as First Minister, Vaughan Gething, the then Welsh Government’s Minister for Economy visited Robert Price Builders Merchants to learn how merchants help customers to equip themselves in the low- and zero-carbon techniques and applications necessary on the road to net zero by 2050.

Mr Gething, the MS for Cardiff South & Penarth, toured the Sustainable Energy Centre and met representatives of partners whose materials and products are featured there - including roof-integrated solar tiles; thermal insulating paints and coatings; solar panel battery storage; and the latest heat pumps.

The Minister looked in on a training session about installing heat pumps that was underway in Robert Price’s dedicated training academy. He chatted to trainees and handed them their course completion certificates.

In July 2023, the BMF took part in a regional development conference in Cardiff City Hall - at which the leaders of Swansea Council (Cllr Rob Stewart), Newport Council (Cllr Jane Mudd) and Cardiff Council (Cllr Huw Thomas) were the main speakers. How to improve the economic performance and future potential of Wales’ three largest cities was the topic up for discussion among local authority and business leaders.

Participants discussed efforts to boost productivity and revive each urban economy and the significance the three cities have on Wales as a whole. Collectively, they account for 7% of the nations’ land area but (at least) one-third of the population. But success in these cities comes at a cost to the surrounding towns & villages because South-East Wales is where businesses and foreign direct investment wants to go. All three cities want to build more council housing - and if possible, build new homes to the Passivhaus standard which applies higher, more exacting thermal & energy performance criteria in their design and construction.

Current Topics

Default 20mph Road Speed Limit

The Welsh Government’s controversial decision to introduce a default 20mph road speed limit in September 2023 is matter of concern to BMF members. This much-debated new law was the idea of Lee Waters MS, former Deputy Minister for Climate Change, who left that role following the election of the new First Minister, Vaughan Gethin MS, in March 2024.

We raised the issue directly with Mr Waters, at the 2023 Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, where he spoke at a fringe meeting. He faced stiff questions from business representatives about his decisions to cut the Welsh road-building programme and impose the 20mph speed limit.

Upon becoming First Minister, the BMF wrote to Mr Gething, urging him to review it. In making our case, we described how it directly affects the daily operations of merchants - notably:

longer journey times and increased congestion in more areas that affect the delivery of raw materials & finished goods;
fuel consumption and efficient driving - modern HGVs are built to travel at an optimum 40mph - travel at 20mph is wasteful;
to require HGV drivers to stay in lower gears on long clear roads - climb fully-laden uphill on steep roads - or brake continually on downhill roads - is bad vehicle management;
route planning and the number of daily deliveries made per day per lorry;
in-company stock transfer and having to change routes to support branches - resulting in delays to deliver to customers in an efficient & timely manner that affects agreed service levels.

The BMF agrees with other business & motoring organisations that regard the 20mph speed limit on Welsh roads as mis-guided, counter-productive, and will not deliver the assumed benefits. In asking the First Minister to urgently reconsider what the objectives are - and to look at available alternatives – we said there is no shame in taking time to get to iron out inconsistences and wrong assumptions - to strike a fair, equitable balance between road users, cyclists and pedestrians.

Heat Strategy

In Autumn 2023, the Welsh Government consulted on the next steps for heat decarbonisation in buildings. Over 85% of Welsh homes use fossil fuels so low-carbon solutions are the priority in this strategy. Approx. 19% homes (277,000) are off the gas main grid. There is a commitment to rural homes to overcome the financial barriers to pay for low-carbon heating. The 91-page document is here, although this consultation closed on 8 November 2023: https://www.gov.wales/heat-strategy-wales.

Heat pumps, direct electric, biomass and solar thermal are preferred under this strategy. Publicly-funded support such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and Warm Homes Programme were mentioned - as was the Optimised Retrofit Programme for ‘whole house retrofitting’ in social housing. Some BMF members in Wales have previously taken part in helping to promote the ORP initiative locally. Ministers will consult further on banning fossil fuel heating in new build - and in existing dwellings at the point of replacement - perhaps to come into force between 2025-2035.

Improving energy efficiency of Welsh businesses is a critical objective in decarbonising heat. Ministers want to encourage SMEs to adopt energy-efficient practices - and are offering financial support & guidance - to help employers understand the benefits to their businesses. There was an intriguing proposal on the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) for commercial buildings. It is currently unlawful to let or rent property that does not meet the minimum EPC rating of E. This document proposed to increase this to EPC Band C in 2028 and Band B in 2031.

Public Procurement

The BMF continues to lobby the Welsh Government on the need for a much fairer tendering process, particularly for SME merchants. But the last UK Government consultation focussed on the larger infrastructure projects. The Welsh Government will consider the outcome of this before deciding if there is need to produce legislation for Welsh purposes. We engage with Welsh Government officials who are aware of our concerns.

Optimised RetroFit Programme

The Welsh Government’s Optimised RetroFit programme is a whole-house approach to decarbonising homes. It is open to Registered Social Landlords and local authorities to install a variety of decarbonisation measures in existing housing. The BMF has been heavily involved in the ORP from the start.

We were on the panel which approved a number of trial projects and have since attended regular meetings with other organisations involved. We also arranged an online seminar for merchants to understand the scheme. In conjunction with the Welsh Government and a large housing association, the BMF were asked to host a large display trailer in merchant branches and carry promotional literature to showcase the Optimised RetroFit and what is seeks to achieve. https://www.optimised-retrofit.wales/

Your first point-of-contact is David Harding on (01686) 640630 or [email protected]