THE next Stormont Executive – whatever shape that might take after May 5 – will need to work together to develop and deliver a number of key projects which will be crucial to the long term sustainability and success of the economy in Northern Ireland.
It is no secret that it has been a difficult few years for the construction industry in Northern Ireland and it is time that the Executive put actions into place to allow it to fulfil its key role in economic development. To begin with we need to see political stability and a renewed commitment to the complete delivery of the Stormont House and Fresh Start agreements. Failure to deliver could have catastrophic consequences for the local construction industry and, by virtue of its multiplier effect, on the wider Northern Ireland economy.
Within the industry there is an opinion that there is a need for widespread and systemic public service reform. A key component to delivering the much needed pipeline of works that the industry urgently needs to see is seeing through the centralisation agenda in respect of the procurement and delivery of public sector infrastructure projects.
To this end, we recommend that a public sector procurement and delivery agency is created by the end of 2017. We also recommend that a quarterly report on the procurement pipeline is laid before the Assembly by the autumn of 2016.
The future of the industry must also be addressed. We were alarmed that, in the review of apprenticeships conducted in the last mandate, our industry was not seen as a priority sector!
The new employer-led apprenticeship model is critical to addressing our skills needs and, in addition, it is vital that the money raised in Northern Ireland as a result of the new Apprenticeships Levy and apportioned back to the Executive through the block grant is ring-fenced for apprenticeships.
An ongoing issue that can put many developers off investment in new projects continues to be the planning system. The industry wants to see a planning system which, at its core, supports investment – rather than stalling or discouraging it. With this in mind, we welcomed the devolution of planning authority to the new local councils – however issues around speed of decision making and certainty for developers remain.
In my previous article I commented at length about the current issue of a housing shortage as highlighted by the Housing Supply Forum, and the need for more house building in NI. In finding a solution to this, we believe the new Executive needs to take a number of steps including.
:: A mapping exercise detailing land availability and zoning information in respect of available public land.
:: More joint ventures between housing associations and developers must be actively encouraged and supported by the Executive.
:: More funding allocated to both the shared housing and Co-Ownership schemes.
In order for the construction industry to play its full part in the development of our economy, the new Executive must look at these issues. A clear pipeline of projects needs to be developed along with greater transparency as to the proportion of the capital budget that is actually spent on construction works.
We believe the next Executive must set itself a key performance indicator of increasing the percentage of capital spend that is construction works over the course of the coming five years to 60 per cent of the overall total.
:: John Armstrong is managing director of the Construction Employers Federation (CEF), the certified representative body for the construction industry in Northern Ireland, representing 1,200 member companies
