CECA has launched an exclusive members-only policy workshop roadshow. Ben Goodwin, CECA’s Director of Policy and Public Affairs, explains more in this short blog post.
The CECA policy team is delivering an exercise to update the Association’s core policy positions. These are a series of positions that both CECA members and staff can use when engaging with key policymakers and decisionmakers on infrastructure issues.
To facilitate this update work, a series of workshops across CECA’s English regions is being conducted to gauge member views and perspectives.
The first of these sessions kicked off with members from CECA North West, with a range of contractors working across different sectors in the region represented. Discussion focused on several core areas including energy, transport and water.
With regard to the energy sector the prevailing view was that more needs to be done to accelerate the reconfiguration of the transmission network to support the Government’s aims of delivering a clean energy revolution. Putting the onus on industrial partners to drive innovation and aligning disparate procurement frameworks were also considered as key in this.
On transport, there was much optimism for the recent announcements regarding Northern Powerhouse Rail, but a sense that we need to move quicker to get this vital programme of work delivered.
As far as road projects were concerned, there is frustration among contractors that their value is not properly considered and whilst decarbonising their delivery and use is critical, their role as an economic enabler should be championed.
The workshop also examined several cross-sectoral issues, with a significant focus on the need for government to improve pipeline visibility and to ensure that planning reform covering infrastructure projects progresses rapidly.
On pipeline, CECA look forward to the next iteration of NISTA’s (National Infrastructure & Service Transformation Authority) future look being published shortly and the opportunity to continue to engage in its ongoing improvement.
Other key areas of discussion included the continued policy challenges CECA members experience with accessing and utilising skills funding, alongside the need to position civil engineering as an attractive career choice particularly among younger people.
The final workshop theme was devolution, namely whether this is speeding up decision-making and funding allocations for infrastructure projects or instead doing the opposite. The thinking was perhaps that more needs to be done to tip the scales in the direction of the former.
The next workshop in the roadshow will take place with members from CECA South West on 4 March. A position paper will be published when all regional workshops have taken place later in the year.
If you would like to submit any thoughts in relation to this work in writing you can also do that at enquiries@ceca.co.uk.