UK rental association calls for “stability” in the plant-hire sector

Steve Mulholland, CPA chief executive officer

The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) in the UK has wriiten to the Chancellor Rachel Reeves calling on the Treasury to “provide stability and certainty for the plant-hire sector” as it prepares to announce its Autumn budget.

In the letter, penned by CPA policy manager Chris Cassley, the CPA highlighted four key areas of focus in the Autumn Budget that the Treasury should consider.

These include committing to a timetable for extending the Full Expensing Allowance to every aspect of the construction plant-hire industry and extending the 2022 cut in fuel duty for two years, given what it describes as “increased global uncertainty due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine”

It has also urged the government to temporarily reintroduce the rebate for HVO to the construction industry for at least the next two years and explore the feasibility of a trial scrappage scheme for NRMM (Non-Road Mobile Machinery) operators operating in Freeport zones, with a view to widening the scheme on a national basis.

The CPA added that the Treasury should begin engaging with the plant-hire sector to “set realistic goals on the phasing out of fossil fuelled machinery.”

Cassley said, “CPA members have consistently demonstrated their resilience, their commitment, and their belief in the UK as country to build, grow and maintain their businesses. They do this every day by supporting a wide range of industries and construction sectors, showing their professionalism, and dedication to their work.

“Our members, working with our world class equipment manufacturers, act as a critical global hub for expertise, knowledge, innovation, and development. I hope the forthcoming Budget recognises this and builds on this progress.

According to Steve Mulholland, CPA chief executive officer, the budget is an opportunity for the government to provide  “stability and certainty, through consistent workflows, that the plant-hire sector needs to invest in new equipment and technologies.”

He said, “While it is encouraging to see announcements on house building and planning reform, construction’s absence from the government’s industrial strategy was notable.

“We can only drive lasting and sustained economic growth by updating and improving our infrastructure. This means making long-term decisions and having the commitment to stick with them. This can only happen with the efforts of the UK’s plant-hire sector.

“We urge the Treasury to take on board the recommendations in our submission and work with CPA members in helping achieve these aims.

“If the government is committed to delivering economic growth and increasing business investment, the Chancellor should resist calls to scrap the freeze in Fuel Duty. CPA members continue to operate their businesses on very tight margins and any increase in additional costs will have an adverse impact on investment in the short-medium term.

“Oil prices remain volatile and such a move would penalise workers and the businesses that employ them,” he continued.