{"id":4022792,"date":"2019-01-31T15:47:55","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T15:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.buyassociation.co.uk\/?p=4022792"},"modified":"2019-01-31T15:47:55","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T15:47:55","slug":"building-sector-told-to-buckle-up-for-brexit-side-effects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/zh-hk\/2019\/01\/31\/building-sector-told-to-buckle-up-for-brexit-side-effects\/","title":{"rendered":"Building sector told to buckle up for Brexit side-effects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Construction industry experts have said the sector must get its house in order over Brexit to deal with the impact of the UK leaving the EU.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) recently convened a meeting of over 100 industry leaders to discuss contingency plans for a No Deal Brexit. The UK is due to leave the EU at 23:00 on 29 March.<\/p>\n

Industry predicts price rises in 2019<\/h4>\n

There are fears over what Brexit,<\/a> in whatever form, will mean for construction in the UK. A recent report by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) stated that 87%<\/strong> of builders expect the price of materials to rise in the next six months, while only a third<\/strong> felt confident that they would have more work on their plate in 2019.<\/p>\n

Andy Mitchell, CLC chairman, said: \u201cWhile a no-deal Brexit remains a possibility, firms in the construction industry have a responsibility to their employees, clients and the firms in their supply chain to plan for this.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe potential impacts of a no-deal Brexit for the industry would be significant \u2013 and [the summit] marked the first steps in the industry acting together to mitigate these.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The possibility of EU construction workers leaving the UK after Brexit also cast a shadow, with 66% of FMB members feeling that wages will have rise if there is a fall in workforce supply.<\/p>\n

Where will workers come from?<\/h4>\n

The CLC\u2019s summit saw Diana Montgomery of the Construction Products Association make a presentation that hinted at the possible impact on London\u2019s building sites \u2013 27%<\/strong> of construction workers in the capital are from the EU.<\/p>\n

A quarter<\/strong> of construction products used in the UK in 2017 came from oversea, but of that figure 60%<\/strong> were made in the EU. As an example of the effect on materials, the CPA showed the summit how the price of timber has risen by 31%<\/strong> since the Brexit referendum in June 2016.<\/p>\n

There is a myriad of issues for the sector, but the CLC had pledged to:<\/p>\n