CPA Weekly Notes – 26th September 2025

Issue No. 1170, 26th September 2025 FOR MEMBERS ONLY

Association Activities

CPA Autumn Lunch 2025 | Sold Out!
We wish to thank our members for your support in helping us sell out the tables and seats for the upcoming Autumn Lunch (13 Nov).  We look forward to welcoming 550 members and industry guests that day.  If you have any questions, please get in touch with Fabi.

CPA is supporting CRASH Charity at the Autumn Lunch 2025 – Donate and enter the Raffle
CPA is proud to support CRASH – the UK construction industry charity since 2002. CRASH is all about helping homelessness charities and hospices with vital construction projects and creating places that care for people – and this makes it a perfect fit for the CPA and all our guests from across the construction supply chain. We will have  a collection of donations during the Lunch for CRASH (card payments are also accepted), at the end of the speeches we will have a small raffle. Please get in touch with Fabi if you would like to donate a prize for the raffle. 

CPA 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 meeting hosted by Defra about flood resilience; observe a board meeting for the Code for Construction Product Information; host a meeting of the CLC’s Standards and Regulatory Alignment Group; and join a regular meeting of the Construction Leadership Council’s Task Force.
• Jeff May, CPA Deputy Chief Executive, will speak at a panel discussion at the Labour Party Conferenceand will attend a meeting of Make UK members to discuss policy issues relevant to manufacturers.
• Jane Thornback, CPA Sustainability Policy Advisor, will join a judging panel for the Brick Awards (sustainability); attend a meeting hosted by DESNZ officials for the CLC’s Green Construction Board members working on the Built Environment circular economy roadmap to discuss the proposals.
• Hanna Clarke, Digital and Policy Manager, will have a variety of meetings with industry colleagues and civil servants around both competence and digitalisation of product information.
• Rob Lee, CPA Senior External Affairs Manager, will join Jeff in Liverpool for the Labour Party Conference, including meetings wih Mike Reader MP, Chris McDonald MP, Chris Bloore MP, and Chris Curtis MP.

Economics Update

CPA Weekly UK Economic and Construction Update
The U.S. tariff and global trade issues information has been paused, as there have been no further updates or changes in recent weeks. However, if tariffs and international trade become significant issues once again, then the CPA will restart the tariff information updates.

The latest weekly update is available here including:

• New Construction Minister (September 2025)
• RIBA Future Trends Survey (August 2025)
• Insolvency Service Construction Insolvencies (July 2025)

The CPA’s Summer forecasts were published on Monday, 28 July, and are available from the CPA Website. If you prefer not to receive these emails, then let me know.

Government Update

Ministerial Responsibilities Finalised 
After the recent reshuffle it often takes a little time for individual ministers responsibilities to be finalised. This has now happened and responsibilities have been confirmed for all Ministers. Chiefly for our industry are the  two junior Ministers and their responsibilities who are as follows: 

Samantha Dixon MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy) MHCLG
Building safety, regulations, Building Safety Regulator and remediation, Net Zero and energy efficiency, Grenfell Inquiry response, Grenfell Community, Tower and Memorial, Fire policy and operations, Resilience, recovery, and emergencies, Elections policy, Planning casework.

Chris McDonald MP 
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Industry) DBT & DESNZ

DBT responsibilities include:
advanced manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, chemicals and plastics, construction, infrastructure, maritime and shipbuilding, steel, materials and critical minerals, Industrial Development Advisory Board, defence

DESNZ responsibilities include:
Office For Clean Energy Jobs, green jobs and skills, green growth sectors, energy sector supply chains, energy infrastructure investments, industrial decarbonisation and emissions trading, including fuel switching, carbon leakage, industrial energy bill.

DESNZ Survey Request
The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Product Standards team invites CPA members to take part in a short survey on Ecodesign requirements for standby, off-mode and networked standby.  The aim of this survey is to gather evidence on the potential impacts if the UK aligns with the EU’s updated Regulation (EU) 2023/826, and to compare these with the current GB requirements under Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008. The EU’s updated rules would increase the stringency of requirements and bring additional products into scope. Your input will help DESNZ assess the implications for UK businesses and inform future policy.
 The survey can be accessed via the following link: https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90904374/Standby-Networked-Standby-Survey.  It will ask some questions about your organisation, your product portfolio, and your views on the current and future requirements.  A separate Excel file is provided for you to add technical and sales volume details about your products.
 All responses will be viewed only by DESNZ and its research agencies and combined to build an anonymised, aggregate picture. If you are a trade association, you are welcome to provide association-level responses and/or coordinate input from your members.

Consultation on Late Payments
The Department for Business and Trade has launched a consultation seeking views on proposed legislative measures to ensure companies pay their suppliers quickly and on time, including measures to address the use of retention clauses in construction contracts.  This is an important consultation for construction both in terms of the proposed options for retentions and the wider general payment measures.  DBT wants CPA members to recognise that retentions may not be a direct issue for our manufacturers, but payment certainly is.  The consultation runs for 12 weeks and closes on 23 October 2025. Further details can be found here.

Government consultation on water efficiency requirements in building regulations
Government is proposing a plan to strengthen Water Efficiency Standards in the Building Regulations 2010, Part G, to require tighter standards in new homes.  It also seeks more information on enabling water reuse systems in new developments to enable even greater water efficiency in homes. The deadline is 16 December.  Find the documents here Water Efficiency Standards: a review of Building Regulations 2010 Part G2 – GOV.UK

GCPA Autumn Lunch

Siderise Insulation achieves BES 6001 responsible sourcing certification 
Siderise Insulation has achieved certification to the latest version of the BES 6001 standard for all its stone wool passive fire protection and acoustic products manufactured at its Maesteg factory in South Wales. This latest achievement for the global manufacturer evidences its ongoing commitment to achieving the highest sustainability standards in its field.
 
Developed by UK-based research organisation, BRE (Building Research Establishment), the BES 6001 framework standard requires construction product manufacturers to evidence that their products are made from responsibly sourced materials. The independent assessment process looks at every product stage, from raw material extraction to processing and point of sale. Businesses are scored against a range of criteria, including supply chain management, management systems and social and environmental factors such as biodiversity and site stewardship.
 
Siderise was awarded a ‘Good’ rating, following a comprehensive review of its processes and procedures around matters such as procurement practices, supply chain, transport impacts, life cycle assessment, and engagement with local communities. It received full marks for its environmental and quality management system in the supply chain, responsible sourcing policy, and operational management of responsible sourcing.
 
Sera Turkoglu, Sustainability Manager for Siderise Group, further explains the process:
“Many of our standard practices already aligned with BES 6001 principles. However, as part of our ESG strategy, we were keen to enhance and formalise our internal processes, develop our supply chain controls, and confirm that our practices meet the stringent requirements. For our first assessment, we were pleased to achieve a ‘Good’ rating as this provides a solid benchmark for us to raise further in subsequent audits and reaffirms our position as an ever improving, trusted and forward-thinking leader in our industry.”
 
Gary Marshall, Quality Manager, added:
“Achieving BES 6001 certification marks an important milestone in our ongoing commitment to sustainability, ethical sourcing, and responsible supply chain management. It reflects the hard work and dedication of our entire team and demonstrates how we are aligned with industry best practices for environmental stewardship and social responsibility, thus making us better equipped to support our customers in meeting their own sustainability goals.”
 
BES 6001 certification is recognised across the globe as demonstrating responsible, sustainable procurement practices and reduced supply chain risk. Products certified to it can support specifiers to secure additional credits under sustainable building certification standards, such as BREEAM, LEED and DGNB.
 
Learn more about Siderise and its sustainability journey

Industry News

Bouygues Supplier Opportunity

The British Embassy in Paris is sharing an opportunity for CPA members to supply into Bouygues Construction opportunities in France and around the world.  They are for the moment particularly interested in hearing from UK manufacturers working around the following sectors and products:

Data Centres 
MEP works (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing)
Fencing, ceilings, and related technical components.
Electrical
Cables, electrical equipment, and associated systems.
Outdoor Equipment & Furniture
Lighting poles, signalization products, and related urban furniture.
Infrastructure Projects (Tunnels, Airports, Bridges)
Conveyors and other specialized structural or technical elements.
Architectural & Finishing Works
Wall and flooring coverings (including hospital-grade solutions)
Guard rails, steel balconies, decorative furniture
Curtain walls, wooden and metal doors
HDPE pipes, decorative panels, and fencing systems.

If your firm is interested to learn more, please contact christine.taylor-colas@fcdo.gov.uk and anya.novak@businessandtrade.gov.uk before 03 October.  A webinar and ‘meet the buyer’ event will be planned for those interested.

Industrial emissions: modernising environmental permitting
Government is consulting on Industrial emissions: modernising environmental permitting – GOV.UK. The deadline is 21st October 2025 and more information can be found here.

Regulatory science challenges to the uptake of innovation for Net Zero in retrofit 
CPA is a project partner in this Innovate-UK funded network project to explore the regulatory challenges to the uptake of innovation for Net Zero in Retrofit.  This one-year project is now entering its third quarter and the Network (BRE, National Retrofit Hub, National Energy Foundation) will convene an open meeting for anyone interested in learning about progress on 29 September 2025 from 13.30 to 15.00. Register at RetroNetZero RS&IN – BRE Group Events. For further information contact Jane Thornback

Review of Government Buying Standards (GBS)
The Government is reviewing the  Government Buying Standards – these are guidelines that state that any new government procured building should be BREEAM Excellent, and any major refurbishment should achieve a BREEAM Very Good rating. There are also GBS for product groups such as windows, wood products, paints and varnishes, domestic gas boilers, Showers, taps, toilets, and others. Defra has issued a stakeholder survey hereand will be convening webinars in September. Find the GBS for different product groups here. For further information contact Jane Thornback.

CPA in the News

REHAU bucks the trend as commercial project enquiries more than double
The company’s performance comes at a time when the wider construction sector has faced significant headwinds. These challenges include rising inflation, delays in the planning process and weakened investor confidence, which were all highlighted by the Construction Products Association as reasons for downgrading their earlier H1 2025 forecasts.
Glass and Glazing Products | 11/09/2025 | Online
Also in Window News and Glass News

CCS appoints first-ever managing director
CCS is owned by the Construction Products Association and the Construction Industry Council and operates a voluntary scoring system for construction site standards, as well as a public complaints service. 
Construction News| 11/09/2025 | Online