Public Affairs
Through its contacts with ministers, MPs and civil servants and its use of professional parliamentary experts, the HVCA is able to make its voice heard in the "corridors of power" of Westminster and Whitehall, as well as Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and Brussels.
Some elements of the Association's representational functions are carried out via its membership of the Specialist Engineering Contractors' (SEC) Group, an umbrella body which represents the interests of construction-related specialist contractors.
The Association is also active in making formal responses to Government consultations on issues that impact on the interests and operations of its member companies.
EU Services Directive
The aim of the Services Directive is to complete the EU internal market by removing barriers to trade in services (barriers in respect of trade in goods having been removed in 1992).
The directive – which will be implemented by 2010 – will allow a company established in one member state to provide services in another member state without having to be legally estabished there.
Full details of the Services Directive may be found on the website of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR).
The following pdf contains the HVCA’s response to a Government consultation on the implementation into the UK of the provisions contained in the Services Directive.
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Services Directive Response | 520KB |
Improving payment practices in the construction industry – 2nd Consultation
In June 2007 BERR consulted for the second time on the operation of Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (the Construction Act) and the Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998 (the Scheme) seeking views on proposals drawn from Sir Michael Latham’s 2004 report.
Full details of the consultation may be found on the website of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR).
The following pdf contains the HVCA’s response to the consultation.
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Improving Payment Practices Response | 520KB |
Longer time limits for prosecution of breaches of Building Regulations
In July 2007, DCLG sought views on proposals to take powers to lengthen the time limits during which local authorities can take prosecutions for breaches of building regulations. The proposals were intended to achieve better compliance with building regulations by providing a more effective deterrent to non-compliance.
The consultation may be downloaded from the DCLG site.
The HVCA response may be downloaded here.
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Longer time limits – HVCA response | 208KB |
Consultation on sustainable products
In January 2008 DEFRA undertook a consultation on behalf of the Government’s Market Transformation programme to seek views on improving the efficiency of domestic heating and hot water systems.
Read the HVCA response here
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Sustainable products – HVCA response | 208KB |
House of Commons Committee’s Parliament Inquiry into ‘Engineering’ (March 2008)
The Association’s written evidence to the Committee is published on the Committee’s website (441 pages) HVCA raised the issue of poor provision of accredited training in building services engineering and the need for training funds and a national skills academy
The Future of Building Control
In March 2008 the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) published a consultation paper on the future of building control, which sought views on changes designed to address weaknesses in the current system of building control, as identified by users of the system and the building control industry itself. The proposed changes are intended to both improve compliance with the Building Regulations and further reduce the burdens associated with the system. In its response HVCA reiterated support for Competent Persons Schemes and underlined the need for improved attention to compliance with the Building Regulations. Download the full HVCA response.
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The Future of Building Control – HVCA response | 208KB |
Contact
For information on the Association's public affairs activity, please contact Brigitte Faubert on 020 7313 4911 (bfaubert@hvca.org.uk) or Jack McDavid on 020 7313 4909 (jmcdavid@hvca.org.uk.)
