CPA Weekly Notes – 13th March 2026

Issue No. 1192, 13th March 2026 FOR MEMBERS ONLY

Association Activities

CPA Spring Lunch – Last Few Seats Remaining
Join us for the CPA Spring Lunch on April 23, 2026, at Hilton Park Lane, London. This event is one of the most significant networking opportunities in the construction industry, attracting influential professionals from all areas of the construction industry. Whether you are a manufacturer, supplier, client, or contractor the CPA Spring Lunch provides a chance to connect and build valuable relationships. Reserve your table or seat now as sales are expected to finish very shortly.

Sponsorship Opportunities at CPA Spring Lunch 2026
Take advantage of our sponsorship opportunities at the CPA Spring Lunch 2026. By partnering with us, your brand will gain maximum exposure before, during, and after the event. This is an excellent way to showcase your commitment to the construction industry and reach a wider audience. By becoming a sponsor, you will not only support this prestigious event but also position your brand for future success. Let’s make the CPA Spring Lunch 2026 an event to remember! For more details on how to become a sponsor, please reach out to Fabi. For details about sponsorship see here.

Weekly CPA Meeting Calendar

Adam Turk, CPA Chairman and CEO of the Siderise Group, will chair the quarterly meeting of the CPA’s Industry Principals Council (IPC).
Peter Caplehorn, CPA Chief Executive, will present to the meeting of the IPC; meet with directors at the MHCLG, OPSS and Building Safety Regulator to discuss product issues including the role of the Principal Designer; chair a meeting of the Construction Leadership Council’s Standards & Regulatory Alignment Group; will attend the Fire Sector Confederation Congress; and join a regular meeting of the Construction Leadership Council’s Task Force.
Jeff May, CPA Deputy Chief Executive, will present to the meeting of the IPC.
Professor Noble Francis, CPA Economics Director, will present to the meeting of the IPC; and attend a meeting of the CPA’s Economic Forecast Panel to discuss the upcoming Spring Forecasts.
Mark Wilkinson, Senior Technical Manager, will attend a meeting of the Future Homes Hub to discuss fabric design and construction site process.
Jane Thornback, CPA Sustainability Policy Advisor, will present to the meeting of the IPC.
Rob Lee, CPA Senior External Affairs Manager, will join the Enterprise Forum meeting with John Glen MP.

Economics Update

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

CPA View on Middle Eastern Conflict and Potential Effects (11 March 2026)
ONS Construction Output (January 2026)
RICS UK Residential Market Survey (February 2026)
Persimmon 2025 Full-year Results (March 2026)

The State of Trade Survey 2025 Q4 was published on Monday 9th February and can be found here.
The CPA’s Winter Forecasts were published on Monday 26 January and can be found here.
The CPA’s Winter Forecasts were published on Monday 26 January and can be found here.

Government Update

Grenfell Tower Inquiry Government Annual Report 2026
The Government has published its first Annual Report to Parliament on the implementation of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations. In February 2025, the Government accepted all 58 Phase 2 recommendations made by the Inquiry and remains committed to act on them all. With action underway on all recommendations, including consultations launched on six recommendations, the Government expects to close 70% of recommendations by the end of 2026 and is on track to deliver on all recommendations within four years from the government’s response. The report provides an update on the progress made over the last year and the next steps Government is taking to continue to deliver on all recommendations. You can read the full progress report here.

Government Consultation on General Safety Requirement for Construction Products
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has launched a consultation on introducing a General Safety Requirement (GSR) for construction products, which would expand the current regulatory framework to cover products not subject to designated standards or technical assessments. The consultation proposes a statutory requirement that all construction products placed on the UK market must be safe, including those not currently regulated under the Construction Products Regulation. The consultation runs for 12 weeks and closes on 20 May 2026. The CPA will be responding to this consultation via our Technical Committee.

Statement from the Interim Chief Construction Adviser
The Chief Construction Advisor Thouria Istephan has release a statement regarding her work. It includes her priorities during her term in office and her next steps. some of her priorities are listed as:

reform of regulation for construction products
standards for the construction of buildings and professionals involved in construction
how evidence is gathered and learning from near misses
supporting the development of the permanent CCSA role

The Statement can be read in full here. The CPA has already met with and has an ongoing dialogue with the Interim Chief Construction Advisor.

Product Safety White Paper Published and Consultation Begins
The Government has published its White Paper consultation on Construction Product Reform. This has been eagerly anticipated following on from the Green Paper on Product Reform and more recently the Single Regulator Prospectus. The CPA will be engaging in detailed discussion with our members as it will define how the product sector will effectively be governed for the foreseeable future. The consultation can be found here.
As with the Green Paper last year the CPA is in discussion with officials at MHCLG on engagement events that our membership will take part in. We will advise when that has been finalised.

PAS 2000
It has been announced that PAS 2000:2026, Construction products – Bringing safe products to market – Code of practice, has now been published. Its free to download and can be found here.

Industry News

BMBI Release Q4 Report
The latest results reveal that builders’ merchants’ like-for-like value sales for Q4 2025, adjusted to remove the impact of trading days, were -1.2% lower than Q4 2024. Like-for-like volume sales were down -2.9%.The full report can be found here.

Manufacturers Information Collaboration (MIC) to hold first meeting
The Manufacturers Information Collaboration (MIC) is an open, industry-led, non-commercial coalition supporting UK manufacturers on their national digitisation and broader digital transformation journey. All CPA Members are welcome.
MIC will align with and contribute industry-led input to the UK Information Management Initiative (IMI), which is led by nima, supporting national efforts to improve digital manufacturer and product information across the built environment. the meeting is to be held virtually on the 26th March at 14:00 -16:00. Please confirm your attendance by 23rd March to support supportservices@wearenima.im & CC Patricia Massey patricia.massey@beama.org.uk Hanna Clarke hanna.clarke@constructionproducts.org.uk
The meeting will begin its work and review the draft Terms of Reference. The agenda will include the following:

Welcome, housekeeping
Introductions & icebreaker: ‘One thing you would solve in the digital landscape in the built environment’
Overview of MIC & draft Terms of Reference Discussion: purpose, scope & boundaries (including what MIC is and is not)
Summary & next steps

CPA in the News

Oil price spike could mean government needs to raise taxes again, CPA warns
Today’s spike in oil prices could lead to interest rate rises and force the government to raise taxes again at the next Budget, the Construction Products Association has warned. CPA economic director Noble Francis said a sharp rise in energy prices and CPI inflation will lead to slower growth this year and a delay in interest rate cuts “at the very least”. The benchmark oil price topped USD $100 a barrel this morning for the first time since 2022 at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Building | 11/03/2026 | online

UK ministers urged to deliver on infrastructure projects as pipeline tops £700bn
Noble Francis, Economics Director at the Construction Products Association, said: “It is critical that the government doesn’t make the errors of the past and pause, delay, reset and cancel vital infrastructure projects.”
FT | 09/03/2026 | online

PHMI: Disappointing End to 2025 for P&H Merchants
The ONS’s latest construction output report recorded a disappointing end to the year for construction with Q4 output shrinking -2.1% compared to Q3. Private new housing (-3.6%) was the main negative contributor. The Construction Products Association duly downgraded both its forecast construction output for 2026 (from +2.8% to +1.7%) and its forecast for private housebuilding (from +4.0% to +1.5%). Private housing RMI was revised down to -1.0%.
ConstructUK | 12/03/2026 | online
Also in BMN, Construction Index

CPA Responds To Spring Statement 2026
The Chancellor’s Spring Statement was always expected to be low-profile, with little in terms of new policy, especially compared with the Autumn Budget in November, reports Noble Francis, Economics Director of the Construction Products Association (CPA). However, the recent, escalating situation in the Middle East provided a very difficult backdrop, overshadowing the fiscal update.
Tilezine | 11/03/2026 | online

Prices up, deliveries down in latest materials figures
The figures were largely expected, said Noble Francis, economics director at the Construction Products Association (CPA), because deliveries were relatively strong a year ago when housebuilding was gradually recovering, “before slowing considerably” in April 2025. In addition, the extremely wet weather in January 2026 “would have affected housebuilding starts early in the year”, Francis added.
Construction News | 04/03/2026 | online

Spring Statement Forecasts 1.1% Growth This Year
Noble Francis, CPA Economics Director, said: “The Chancellor’s Spring Statement was always expected to be low profile, with little in terms of new policy, especially compared with the Autumn Budget in November. However, the recent, escalating situation in the Middle East provided a very difficult backdrop, overshadowing the fiscal update.”
Roofing Today | 04/03/2026 | online

City slashes bets on rate cuts after energy price shock
Noble Francis, economics director at the Construction Products Association and a professor at UCL, has cautioned that the Strait of Hormuz’s closure will likely raise oil and energy prices…“If there is a quick resolution, oil prices may not remain high for long, so it could just have a temporary direct impact on the UK economy and construction materials, with a brief upward blip in prices,” he said.“However, if the conflict and disruption persist and even spread, this could significantly impact materials prices in the medium-term. This would have a significant negative impact on UK construction at a time when construction demand is subdued … and when site viability is already a big issue due to high costs.”
Telegraph | 02/03/2026 | online
also in Yahoo Finance, Fix Radio, MSN UK

Warnings over impact of materials price rises on UK construction jobs if Middle East conflict drags on
Construction Products Association economics director Noble Francis said higher energy prices may lead to cost increases for materials, especially energy-intensive materials such as concrete or steel. But he said the impact on the UK industry would depend on how long the conflict lasts, with a sustained war between Iran and the US and Israel potentially leading a “significant impact on materials prices in the medium-term”.
Building | 02/03/2026 | online