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Statement from the Scottish Plant Owners Association following the Scottish Parliament election
Following the Scottish Parliament election, the Scottish Plant Owners Association (SPOA) hopes to work constructively with the SNP Government. With an economic contribution of £6.4bn to the UK economy, our members are well placed to provide input into key policy areas including skills and training, major infrastructure projects and house building.
David Jarvie, President of the SPOA.
Skills and training
We welcome the Government’s pledge to increase the number of apprenticeships and deliver 150,000 over the Parliament. We also welcome the introduction of an Apprenticeship Accelerator Grant to attract young people into industry. We believe the Government can go further and renew our call to expand apprenticeships and review the current apprenticeship funding model to reflect the true costs of training.
Infrastructure
We look forward to hearing more about the plan to create Scotland’s Major Projects Office, to coordinate, package and accelerate investment into nationally significant projects. The SPOA would welcome the opportunity to provide proactive input into advising on how these projects can be built and delivered faster, a stated aim of the planned Scotland’s Major Projects Office. Whilst we welcome this initiative, the SPOA maintains that the appointment of a cabinet-level minister to provide a single, high-level voice for construction and infrastructure within the Scottish Government would make a meaningful difference.
Housing
SPOA members are involved in the construction of all types of house building projects across Scotland. We welcome the pledge to invest £4.9 billion in affordable house building over the next four years, supporting the delivery of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.
Again, we look forward to hearing more about the plan to establish a new Scottish housing agency, More Homes Scotland, that will be focused on bringing simplicity, scale and speed to the delivery of homes. This is something that the SPOA is well placed to advise on, and our members are certainly experienced at delivering in this area.
The SPOA renews its call made ahead of the Scottish Parliament election, alongside Scottish Decorators’ Federation, Scottish Building Federation, Contract Flooring Association and the Federation of Master Builders, for:
- The appointment of a cabinet-level minister to provide a single, high-level voice for construction and infrastructure within the Scottish Government
- A Scottish construction workforce action plan with a system-wide review to align the supply of skills with future demand
- Protection and expansion of apprenticeships, making sure the ‘world-class’ Scottish apprenticeship model is ring-fenced and grown
- Funding reform, with a review of the current apprenticeship funding model to reflect the true costs of training
- A national construction skills passport with a digital system to record qualifications and health & safety certification for a mobile, modern workforce
The SPOA has a sub committee working group on Policy, Sustainability and Decarbonisation, with the aim of ensuring that the SPOA represents members and the wider Scottish plant industry before Scottish and UK Governments in terms of proposed changes to legislation affecting members.
Get in touch on info@spoa.org.uk if you wish to raise any policy concerns.