CPA Weekly Notes – 12th June 2026

Issue No. 1205, 12th June 2026 FOR MEMBERS ONLY

Association Activities

Sponsor the CPA Autumn Lunch 2026 
Preparations are now underway for our Autumn Lunch 2026, which will take place at the Brewery on the 5th of November. Tickets will go on sale later in the summer, but we are already looking for sponsors to help support this special event. If your company would be interested in becoming a sponsor, please take a look at the sponsorship form and get in touch with Fabi for more information.

Weekly CPA Meeting Calendar 

• Peter Caplehorn, CPA CEO, has a BSI CPB/1 meeting.
• Amanda Long, CPA Deputy CEO, will be presenting at the opening session of the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) National Staff Conference, Amanda will also be continuing meetings in relation to chairing the Industry Working Group on Steel Tariffs and Quotas on behalf of the CLC.
• Noble Francis, CPA Economics Director, will be attending a Webinar for BDO Monday and on Thursday will be hosting CPA Summer Forecast Panel.
• Mark Wilkinson, CPA Technical Manager, is attending an Industry Competence Steering Group, also the FHS – Technical Conference, and BSI CB/0 Committee Meeting.
• Hanna Clarke, CPA Digital Manager, will be attending the Industry Competence Steering Group, which is being attended also by Andy Rowe and Charlie Pugsley. They will also be attending BSI committee – CPB/1 – Competence in the Built Environment.

Economics Update

CPA Weekly UK Economic and Construction Update
The latest weekly update can be found here it includes:

• ONS Construction Output (April 2026)
• RICS UK Residential Market Survey (May 2026)
• Bellway Trading Update (June 2026)

The CPA’s Spring Forecasts were published on 5th May and can be found here.
The State of Trade Survey 2025 Q4 was published on 14th May and can be found here.
The State of Trade Survey 2025 Q4 was published on 14th May and can be found here.

Government Update

Webinars on the call for evidence on the built environment professions, trades and occupations
MHCLG is hosting two webinars on the Call for evidence: Strategy for the built environment, professions, trades and occupations (published May 2026).
The call for evidence is designed to gather information about the key factors that influence how people work across all stages of the building lifecycle and covers all building types. Submissions to the call will inform development of a new strategy for the built environment professions, trades and occupations.
The two webinars are open to the public and will:

• Explain the aims of the government’s new long-term strategy for the built environment professions, trades and occupations.
• Set out the purpose, scope, and structure of the call for evidence.
• Take questions about the call for evidence. 

The webinars will take place 18 June, 10:00-11:00 and 22 June, 12:00-13:00 you can use the links provided to register if you would like to attend.The Call for evidence will close 12 August 2026.

GSR and White Paper Consultations
The CPA has made a number of submissions on the current consultations including coordinating the response for the Construction Leadership Council, and direct CPA a responses from the Technical Committee, The Sustainability Group. Hanna Clarke, CPA Digital Manager has also submitted a response from SLG 5 competence. 

CPA Consultation Tracker 
With an increasing number of consultations being launched by government, the CPA has launched a tracker with those consultations that are relevant to CPA membership. It can be found for members here.
New consultations will still be reported the Weekly Notes for a limited time. hed by government, the CPA has launched a tracker with those consultations that are relevant to CPA membership. It can be found for members here.
New consultations will still be reported the Weekly Notes for a limited time. 

Industry News

BMBI Q1 & March 2026

The latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report reveals builders’ merchants’ like-for-like value sales for Q1 2026, adjusted to remove the impact of trading days, were -3.2% lower than Q1 2025. Like-for-like volume sales were down -8.1%, with prices increasing +5.4%. The full press release can be found here.

British standard on construction products competence published for public consultation
BS 8670-2 Built environment – Core criteria for construction product competence – Code of Practice has been published for public comment this week, closing 13 July. The standard aims to bring consistency across all how all disciplines working with construction products and product information throughout its life cycle. It does this by describing the core principals that should be included in all competence frameworks, training and qualifications. It also may impact how organisations delegate responsibilities with construction products in the organisations and their supply chain.
BS 8670-2 originates from the white paper that CPA published on behalf of WG 12 – Construction Products Competence – that has since been superseded by SLG 5 – Construction Products Manufacturers under the Industry Competence Steering Group, and has contributions from much of the CPA membership and colleagues across the Industry Competence Steering Group.
BS 8670-2 is available for comment here.

CPA in the News

Building material deliveries continue to fall
Rebecca Larkin, head of construction research at the Construction Products Association, said demand in April was “noticeably subdued”. She told Construction News: “Although deliveries of bricks and blocks both improved compared to March, due to better weather, deliveries were lower than a year earlier, reflecting the caution shown by housebuilders in starting new work. Further falls in production and deliveries recorded in other materials such as slate, ready-mix concrete and sand & gravel point to lingering weakness beyond house building, in non-residential sectors of construction such as commercial and industrial.”
Construction News| 03/06/2026 | online

PVs can work alongside rooflights – it needn’t be a case of either /or
“It’s been said that we punch above our weight for a small trade association and that’s down to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved, past and present. It’s why we have a seat with the Construction Products Association (CPA) and contact with Government officials.” 
Total Contractor| 01/06/2026 | online

Latest BMBI builders merchants sales data puts spotlight on timber & joinery
These factors are shaping activity in the housebuilding sector, prompting the Construction Products Association (CPA) to revise down its 2026 outlook. Its latest Spring forecast suggests a much more difficult year for construction, including a forecast decline in private housing output.
TTJ| 01/06/2026 | online

BS 8670‑2 Explained: The Story Behind the UK’s New Construction Product Competence Standard
The Construction Products Association and the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) have both made clear that competence in product knowledge is now a market expectation, not just good practice. The BS 8670‑2 is aimed at removing ambiguity.
Construction.co.uk| 26/05/2026 | online

Houses are not homes: a question for Andy Burnham
Labour’s 1.5m homes target requires roughly 300,000 net additions a year for five years. The actual rate is closer to 200,000. The OBR’s most recent forecast puts this Parliament’s likely delivery at around 1 million across the whole UK, not just England, and the Construction Products Association has said the government will miss the target “significantly”. Planning applications, the earliest reliable indicator of future supply, are running at less than half the level required.
North West Place | 26/05/2026| Online