FMB Cymru meets with Cross Party Group at the Welsh Assembly

                                                                    Joyce Watson AM & Richard Jenkins, Director FMB Cymru
  

A cross-party group of AMs will today discuss how tighter building regulations in Wales could help drive out “cowboys” and even save lives.

Richard Jenkins, Wales Director for the Federation of Master Builders (FMB Cymru) will present to the group, and call for improved regulation of the domestic building industry.

 

Attending the Cross Party Group on Construction at the National Assembly for Wales today (18th June 2013) Richard will present arguments for tighter regulation, as Wales and the UK are practically the only westernised countries that do not exercise a form of licensing control over domestic builders.

 

Richard Jenkins, Director of FMB Cymru said:

 

“Four years ago, three year old Meg Burgess was instantly killed when a 23m wall, built and designed by a builder in Wales, collapsed as she walked with her parents on a public highway.  Tragedies like this could be avoided with improved regulation, as currently anyone can set themselves up as a ‘builder’ and make structural change to domestic properties. 

“The commercial construction sector is well served by mainly Health & Safety guided initiatives that make it very difficult for an inexperienced on untrained contractor or worker to operate in this sector. FMB Cymru is in favour of a protocol being developed that will end the absurd reality that builders working in the domestic sector are able to freely work with no licensing or assessment framework. There is also the economic effect that rogue or ‘cowboy’ builders have on the quality domestic building sector. They undercut and undervalue jobs as a general rule and often use financial gains to pressuriseclients to collude with them to avoid VAT.

 

“It is clear that research is urgently needed into how this issue can be best resolved without putting undue regulation on a hard pressed construction sector. FMB Cymru plan to lead this process, by undertaking a research project that will inform and guide further discussion at the FMB Cymru conference in October, with the aim of developing proposals for improved regulation of the industry which could be introduced by government.”
 

Brian Berry, FMB Chief Executive confirms the organisation’s commitment to high standards:

 

“FMB is committed to being a champion for higher standards in the building industry, which means pushing out the ‘cowboys’. This commitment is reflected by the fact that all FMB members by the end of 2016 will need to be inspected and in compliance with TrustMark standards. This decision has already been welcomed by TrustMark.”                  
              

Joyce Watson AM, Chair of the Cross Party Group on Construction welcomed FMB’s aims:
 

“Cowboy builders undercut reputable tradespeople, undermine consumer confidence, wreck property and ruin lives. They give a bad name to an industry that is overwhelmingly full of hard-working, trustworthy professionals. That is why I am committed to finding any way that makes it harder for rogue traders to operate here in Wales.”