CPA Weekly Notes – 6th June 2025

Issue No. 1154, 6th June 2025 FOR MEMBERS ONLY

Association Activities

Consultation Nation: How Bureaucracy is Slowing Infrastructure
CPA Economics Director Noble Francis has written a blog on the effects of consultation on the delivery of infrastructure projects. It can be found on the CPA website here.

Watch the recording of Noble Francis present at RIBA: Managing Global Uncertainty  
Noble Francis presented to RIBA last week. He looked into the performance of construction sectors from this year and into the next. A recording of the presentation can be watched here.
Weekly Calendar of Meetings

• Peter Caplehorn, CPA Chief Executive, will meet with directors at the MHCLG, OPSS and Building Safety Regulator to discuss product issues; attend a regular meeting of BSI’s Retrofit Standards Task Group; will chair a meeting of the CLC Material Supply Chain Group; join the Housebuilder Product Awards Lunch; and will attend the weekly meeting of the CLC’s Task Force.
• Jeff May, CPA Deputy Chief Executive, will attend the CLC Material Supply Chain Group; join the weekly meeting of the CLC’s Task Force, and attend the LIFTEX exhibition organised by the Lift and Escalator Industry Association.
• Professor Noble Francis, CPA Economics Director, will join a panel discussion for BDO’s Building Products & Services webinar (details below).
• Rob Lee, CPA Senior External Affairs Manager, will join a roundtable with Helen Whately MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, hosted by the Enterprise Forum.
• Hanna Clarke, Digital and Policy Manager, will have a variety of meetings with industry colleagues and civil servants around competence.

Economics Update

CPA Weekly UK Economic and Construction Update
The latest weekly update is available here, including:

• S&P Global UK Construction PMI (May 2025)
• DBT UK Brick Deliveries (April 2025)
• Bank of England UK Mortgage Approvals (April 2025)
• Nationwide UK House Price Index (May 2025)

The CPA’s Spring Forecasts were published on Monday, 28th April and are available for members to download from the CPA Website. Also note that the ONS has suspended its monthly UK building materials price data (and other producer price data) due to concerns about its reliability, which the CPA has been highlighting since the impacts of the energy and price spikes in Spring 2022.

CPA Briefing Paper:  The Impacts of U.S. Tariffs
Following strong demand from members and government alike, the CPA’s economics team has published a briefing paper on the ‘Impacts of U.S. Tariffs’.  This document will be revised as the situation develops, and made available to CPA members every Friday with our Weekly UK Economic and Construction Update (see above).  To receive this document via email every Friday please contact noble.francis@constructionproducts.org.uk ; alternatively, you can click here to read it now.ble.francis@constructionproducts.org.uk ; alternatively, you can click here to read it now.

Government Update

Govt Opens Consultation on Improving Integrity of Voluntary Carbon Markets
Government seeks to clarify and test their proposed policy and governance framework for helping to ensure the integrity of voluntary carbon and nature markets.  Find the consultation here, deadline is 10 July 2025.  For further details contact Jane Thornback.

Govt Opens Consultation on the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
This is a technical consultation running until 3rd July to get feedback on the drafting of the primary legislation of the UK CBAM.  The purpose of a CBAM is to place a carbon price on specified goods imported to the UK from sectors that are at risk of carbon leakage.  The aim being to protect UK manufacturing.  Find details here.  For further details contact Jane Thornback.

News from our Spring Lunch Sponsors

Siderise completes journey to receiving CCPI mark on all core passive fire protection product ranges

Siderise has successfully completed the Code for Construction Product Information (CCPI) assessment process for its RH Horizontal and RV Vertical Cavity Barrier for cladding applications, and CT Cavity Tray and EW Cavity Barrier and Firestop for masonry external wall systems. With approval already gained for its CW-FS Firestop range for curtain walling earlier in the year, this means all the company’s main passive fire protection ranges now carry this best-practice mark, providing greater confidence that the information surrounding them is “clear, accurate, up-to-date, accessible and unambiguous.” 

To gain a CCPI mark, companies are subject to a rigorous and independent assessment process, which includes assessing that the leadership and business culture aligns with the ethos of the CCPI, as well as providing information and clear evidence of conformance to each of the Code’s applicable eleven clauses. In line with its long-term commitment to ‘integrity in all we do’, achieving CCPI conformance for these core product ranges is just one part of the Siderise’s wider strategy to support accurate specification and a safer built environment. Siderise Technical Director, Lee Nichols, explained: 

“Following the introduction of the Building Safety Act and particularly of Gateway 2 for higher-risk buildings (HRBs), we understand that specifiers— whether they are architects, fire engineers or contractors— must feel confident in the information they are using to make decisions and be able to access robust and assessed product data in the format they need. We have aligned getting the CCPI mark for our core products with developing a more holistic specification support package, including creating Specification Packs that summarise the relevant product information for the designated application, and building our partnership with the NBS.” 

“By having our core product ranges assessed by the Code, we have not only made a commitment to continuous improvement as the product set remains registered with the CCPI, but we hope to  communicate to our customers that we are actively responding to the challenges they face when it comes to product information —helping the industry to raise its collective understanding of the crucial importance of fire safety and fire testing. ”  

For more information about Siderise and to explore its product data, click here

Industry News

BDO’s Building Products & Services webinar (12^th June, 10:00 – 11:00)
Hosted by M&A Partner John Stephan, the team will share key insights from the latest publication and discuss the trends of the moment with panellists.
BDO experts will discuss M&A trends in the Building Products & Services sector, the industry themes driving activity, views on valuations in the sector and predictions for the coming year.
Panellists include industry experts Prof. Noble Francis, Economics Director at the Construction Products Association and Joshua Owolabi from GK Strategy, who will provide a briefing on the economic and political environment, and lead in the panel discussion on major market themes. The update will be followed by a live Q&A session. You can register for the webinar here.

Industry Competence Committee annual report 2024 to 2025
The report from the ICC committee has now been published and is available here. The publication includes a report on the work of the Industry Competence Steering Group which is chaired by the CPA’s Hanna Clarke. For more information on the work of the Industry Competence Steering Group please contact Hanna – Hanna.Clarke@constructionproducts.org.uk.

2050 Connected Conference (1-2 July, London)
BEAMA (British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers’ Association) and the Lighting Industry Association are offering CPA members free places at an exclusive industry event that brings together manufacturers, suppliers, and sustainability leaders to accelerate industrial decarbonisation across the supply chain. This is an opportunity to engage directly with peers and partners on critical topics such as embodied carbon measurement, Scope 3 emissions reporting, and supplier collaboration strategies. Through expert-led discussions and interactive sessions, you’ll gain practical insights into measuring and reducing emissions, aligning net-zero strategies with Scope 3 targets, and engaging stakeholders to drive meaningful change.  This event offers a platform to network, share best practices, and inform your net-zero transition planning. For more information click here and to register your place please click here.

The Installer Show (24-26 June 2025)
The CPA and many of our members are supporting The Installer Show at the NEC Birmingham from 24-26 June, and we encourage others to attend.  The Installer Show has gone from strength to strength over the past years and is highly recommended for its industry representation and engagement as well as a topical speaking agenda. To register, click here.

BRE rebrands the Home Quality Mark to BREEAM Residential
BRE has streamlined its offerings and the Home Quality Mark (HMQ) is now rebranded and BRE has released it as residential sustainability assessment, BREEAM UK New Construction: Residential V6.1.  Find details here.  For further details contact Jane Thornback.

CPA in the News

Deliveries of bricks and blocks up more than 10 per cent
Professor Noble Francis, economics director of the Construction Products Association, told Construction News that the latest figures represented a “gradual recovery” in housebuilding. “Brick deliveries in April were considerably higher than a year ago, but it is worth noting that a year ago was still a very low base from which housebuilding demand was only starting to recover after hitting a low point in Winter 2023/24,”
Construction News | 05/06/2025 | Online

Modular construction firm Elements Europe in administration
..this means that the construction industry accounts for 17.4% of all insolvencies. At the time, Construction Products Association (CPA) economics director, Noble Francis, said: “Taking out monthly volatility, so far this year the number of firms going out of business continued to broadly flatline but at its highest levels since the financial crisis. “The largest impacts of downturns in house building and rm&i, rises in labour, materials and financing costs plus project delays continued to be on specialist contractors.
PBC Today | 05/06/2025 | Online

Merchant Q1 Sales Up Year-on-Year
The Construction Products Association reported a mixed start to the year with 15% of heavy side manufacturers reporting quarter-on-quarter decreases for Q1, while 55% light side manufacturers said sales increased – the strongest result since Q3,19. Despite the disparity in fortunes, manufacturers remain optimistic about the year ahead.
Roofing Today | 29/05/2025 | Online

Has the government sold out on construction products regulation?
Mark Wilkinson, senior technical adviser at the Construction Products Association (CPA)… says the trade body’s members have been largely pleased with the green paper’s proposals as a “short-term solution” which avoids the “horrendous” cost implications of switching to UKCA… he believes it may not be a final decision and that it has been made at this stage in order to give the government a “bit of extra time”. “It’s almost as if the government are saying, ‘look, we don’t know all the answers. Industry potentially do, because they’re the experts. Can you help us to provide a solution that works?”
Building | 13/05/2025 | Online

The Unanswered Questions over Donald Trump’s Trade Deal with Britain
Noble Francis, economics director at the Construction Products Association, said it was also unclear whether the deal covered steel used in derivative products such as vehicle parts, industrial components and household goods that were initially included in Trump’s announcement of the 25 per cent steel tariffs in March.  “It is critical that firms get clarity on this as soon as possible as it could have a major impact on their exports to the US,” he added.
FT.com | 09/05/2025 | Online

Mixed opener to 2025 for construction product manufacturing, reports CPA
The results of the Construction Products Association’s State of Trade Survey for the first quarter of 2025 showed it was a mixed quarter for construction product manufacturers’ sales performance. Encouragingly, forward-looking indicators point to expectations of growth returning over the next 12 months as the construction recovery accelerates.
Building Merchants News | 12/05/2025 | Online