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The announcement by the Government, that stamp duty land tax will not apply to purchases of residential property of £175,000 or less mayl be welcomed by first time buyers, but with the average home in England costing £178,364 those benefiting will be few in number. At a time when house building is at its lowest level since 1945 today's announcement is little more than a sticking plaster for the house building industry, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Alongside stamp duty reform the Government should look at ways of freeing builders to get on with building the homes that are so badly needed, it says.
Brian Berry, Director of External Affairs at the FMB said: "Today's announcement is no more than a sticking plaster for the property market. It will not do anything to tackle the underlying problem that there is a shortage of housing in this country, which pushes the prices of existing properties beyond what increasing numbers of people can afford to pay. The Government has plans to build three million new homes, which would relieve some of the pressure on the housing market but builders are being prevented from building by a restrictive planning system."
Storage Safety
SEMA, the Storage Equipment Manufacturers Association, and the CSCS, the Construction Skills Certification Scheme, have now joined forces with an initiative to further increase safety levels on major construction sites.
Under this joint initiative, installers of storage equipment who need to carry out work on sites controlled by the MCG (Major Contractors Group), will have to demonstrate that they are operating to the Storage Equipment industry codes and guidelines, in addition to a knowledge of general site Health and Safety
This now means that installation team members will need to be in possession of a valid SEIRS qualification prior to applying for the relevant CSCS ID card.
Mike Tucker of SEMA elaborates, "SEIRS is the industry specific safety qualification for installers in the UK storage industry. Within the SEIRS programme all installers must successfully complete storage industry-specific training in order to qualify for a SEIRS 'pass' in the form of an ID card".
"The SEIRS ID card, which must be renewed every three years, demonstrates a level of knowledge and a commitment on behalf of individuals operating in this labour intensive sector. SEIRS is both a training and an individual installers' registration scheme which was first introduced in 2000 at the request of and in consultation with, the HSE", and has been developing and improving ever since.
The training involves providing a clear understanding and the importance of working to industry best practice including safe system of work which are based on the SEMA Codes of Practice. These deal with the array of applicable legislation such as the Work at Height Regulations and correct use of appropriate PPE, but specifically focussed on the installation of storage equipment. "Essentially", continues Mike Tucker, "SEIRS is now a very comprehensive programme.
In parallel the CSCS have developed a system for the construction industry whereby site workers must be qualified in traditional construction industry skills.
However, when contractors from other industries work on construction sites they must now demonstrate relevant industry specific qualifications related to their own industry to supplement the general health and safety requirements of the CSCS in order to ensure that safety levels are maximised on site.
"Accordingly", comments Gordon Jenkins of the CSCS, "it is now a pre-requisite that installers of storage equipment seeking to work on an MCG site must be in possession of a valid SEIRS ID card".
Bid To Cut Bureaucracy For Small Firms
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has welcomed the report by the Better Regulation Executive examining how health and safety regulation affects low-risk and small businesses.
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) says small business could save up to £300million a year with better advice and support on health and safety.
Roger Bibbings, RoSPA Occupational Safety Adviser, said: "This report is the first serious examination of how a wide range of third-party influences impact on the way employers manage health and safety.
"It highlights the need to cut unnecessary form filling and to combat myths which give health and safety a bad name, while concentrating on practical management to ensure healthy and safe working."
The report backs the work of RoSPA's National Occupational Health and Safety Committee about pre-qualification schemes, which assess health and safety standards in firms when tendering for work with clients. The assessments look for evidence of contractors' basic health and safety credentials, but firms often have to keep resubmitting similar evidence because there are so many different schemes. RoSPA is currently calling for a more common approach and mutual recognition between schemes, which would cut down on bureaucracy and costs.
"We are delighted to see support for our recommendations," Roger Bibbings said. "And the document also quite rightly identifies ways in which media coverage of health and safety trivialises the subject and causes many businesses to have a negative view of the whole topic."
"But overall, it is an important report which concentrates on practical issues," He concludes.
By Roland Ravenhill
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