CPA Weekly Notes – 13th June 2025

Issue No. 1155, 13th June 2025 FOR MEMBERS ONLY

Association Activities

Weekly Notes Special – Comprehensive Spending Review
The CPA published a Weekly Notes Special outlining the details of the Chancellor’s speech and what it means for members and construction. This Special can be viewed here.

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 earlier this month. 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

Adam Turk, CEO of Siderise Group and Chair of the CPA, will host a regular meeting of the Industry Principals Council (IPC), which will be briefed on the Association’s workstreams and key policy issues.
Peter Caplehorn, CPA Chief Executive, will present to the IPC; meet with directors at the MHCLG, OPSS and Building Safety Regulator to discuss product issues; will attend a Future Homes Hub board meeting as well as a Code for Construction Product Information board meeting; and will attend the weekly meeting of the Construction Leadership Council’s Task Force.
Jeff May, CPA Deputy Chief Executive, will present to the IPC; represent the CPA at a board meeting of Make UK members; meeting with stakeholder engagement civil servants at the Department for Business & Trade; and attend the weekly meeting of the CLC Task Force.
Professor Noble Francis, CPA Economics Director, will present to the IPC and help facilitate a meeting of CPA’s Forecast Panel to begin preparing the Summer Forecasts.
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:

ONS Construction Output (April 2025)
ONS UK Construction Wage Inflation (April 2025)
RICS UK Residential Market Survey (May 2025)
Bellway Trading Update (June 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.m 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

Men’s Health Strategy for England
Government would like CPA members to be aware that the call for evidence to inform England’s first ever Men’s Health Strategy is currently live and will close on Sunday 17 July 2025. The Men’s Health Strategy for England will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England and take a life-course approach. Government is inviting insights from employers, the public, health and social care professionals and academics to shape the strategy – and would be very grateful for your support to share this far and wide. The call for evidence is available at: Men’s Health Strategy for England: call for evidence – GOV.UK. Further information is available in the government’s press notice.

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.

Industry News

BSI Invitation to Join CB/3 Committee
The British Standards Institution is an Associate of the CPA and would like to extend an invitation across our membership for any persons interested in joining its BSI CB/3 committee. CB/3 is responsible for reviewing market demands and regulatory drivers for the safe, compliant, and efficient use of construction products. The committee examines the interaction between the Building Safety Act, UK Construction Products Regulations, and EU Construction Products Regulation, seeking alignment with safety standards to enable the free movement of construction products within the EU single market. Horizontal functions include:

CB/3 facilitates the timely exchange of information on regulatory matters related to construction products between UK Technical Committees, stakeholders, industry, government, and regulators. This allows updates on the UK and EU regulatory landscape to be communicated clearly, accurately, and efficiently to all relevant parties.
CB/3 provides guidance on the UK Construction Products Regulations and EU Construction Products Regulation, advising where needed to help UK Technical Committees align their work with the latest regulatory requirements, assisting committees in navigating regulatory changes and maintaining compliance with both UK and EU standards.

Excluded is the responsibility for fire resistance and reaction to fire tests for building products, including test methods for external fire exposure of roofs and facades, is outside the scope of CB/3 and falls under the remit of FSH/0 and its associated committees. However, information exchange between CB/3 and FSH/0 is necessary. Any interested parties should contact Tom Stack, BSI Standards Development Manager directly on Tom.Stack@bsigroup.com.

HSE Newsletter
The latest Building Safety Regulator Bulletin has been published and can accessed here. It includes articles on Building Assessment Certificates, The Government’s position on roof top gardens and local authority guidance on Multi Disciplinary Teams (MDT).

Building Products & Services – 2025 sector insights
BDO’s latest sector insights publication is now available to download here. Produced in association with the CPA, this provides a detailed review of M&A activity, alongside valuable views on major market themes from industry leaders. Alongside the CPA, key contributors this year include GK Strategy, the Property Institute, Epwin Group, SDS Infrastructure, Jet, InstaGroup, Tetra Consulting, Plastecowood and H.I.G. Capital, with commentary on the economic and policy landscape, housebuilding, regulation, infrastructure, water, data centres, home energy, sustainability and the circular economy.
The team at BDO examines UK trends, activity and valuations by sub-sector, the private equity landscape (with views from H.I.G. Capital), current deal considerations, case studies, and views on the sector from our BDO colleagues around the world. If you’re thinking of embarking on M&A or would like to discuss any of the issues driving change and value in the market, please get in touch with john.stephan@bdo.co.uk or susannah.perkins@bdo.co.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. BRE has released it a residential sustainability assessment, BREEAM UK New Construction: Residential V6.1. Find details here. For further details contact Jane Thornback.

CPA in the News

Brick by brick: UK builders gear up for post-pandemic boom despite global gloom
Noble Francis, chief economist at the Construction Products Association, says brick deliveries are a useful proxy for housebuilding starts, where he anticipates a 5% expansion this year and 7% in 2026. Brick production was up by 31.4% in February, before slipping back to an 8% annual rise March, possibly because there is still a surplus of 459 million bricks in stock, according to the Department for Business and Trade.
Guardian Online | 11/06/2025 | Online
also in: ExecReview, Tribune International, Yahoo Finance UK, Les Actualites
LBC News – Comprehensive Spending Review
The Construction Products Association effectively said seeing is believing and moreover that sometimes Government spending plans can get reviewed, paused and cancelled later on.
LBC | 11/06/2025 | Broadcast

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