Listed below are our most recent news posts. You can also view our News Archive, containing posts from from 2020 until present.
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CFA are delighted to launch some additional guidance regarding underfloor heating and specifically how legislation relating to heat source pumps is likely to affect our industry and the whole supply chain. Consequently, this guidance document will be of interest to architects, designers, manufacturers, distributors and contract flooring companies.
Underfloor heating offers an exciting opportunity for the industry and end users. It is becoming more and more popular because it offers a balance of comfort and performance that meets Government carbon reduction targets. As the document identifies, UFH is probably the main solution to the recommendation for in the Future Building Standards (developed as the Future Homes Standard) which will mean that traditional boilers will be replaced by heat pumps for all new build homes.
As the use of UFH is likely to increase significantly, the guide provides both a greater understanding of UFH systems and how they work, as well as a guide to key installation requirements for textile, resilient and timber-based flooring. It also provides some guidance as to how the UFH should be used to ensure that the floor covering is not accidentally damaged in use. It compliments other documents in the CFA’s library including the CFA’s Guide to Contract Flooring and section 8 that provides more detailed installation guidance.
CFA’s new document Beyond Installation: Guidance on Underfloor Heating is initially being released as a member only benefit, and demonstrates the importance of working with a quality supply chain. To access this guidance and wider expertise that the CFA supply chain offers, we recommend using a CFA Contractor and products from the Distributors and Manufacturers within membership for your flooring projects. Please see the CFA directory at www.cfa.org.uk, email info@cfa.org.uk or call 0115 941 1126.
Richard Catt CEO of the CFA commented “I am delighted to offer this additional and valuable support to members in a growing area of understanding and activity in the contract flooring market. It is vitally important that all involved in an installation that includes under floor heating collaborate from an early stage. This is probably one of the key messages that this document delivers, with some insight in to the main topics to consider and how innovation may influence.”
Under the Building Safety Act, anyone appointing an individual or organisation to undertake design and construction work has a duty to ensure that they are competent. For individuals this means having the appropriate skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours, whilst organisations must demonstrate ‘organisational capability’.
For organisations, the Common Assessment Standard is an established third‐party certification scheme, recognised by Government in PPN 03/24 and supported by the CLC, which requires the appropriate management policies, procedures and systems to be in place. The latest version of the Common Assessment Standard, which will be launched at the end of this quarter, includes a new Building Safety section, meaning Build UK members can demonstrate compliance with their dutyholder responsibilities by ensuring that those in their supply chain are certified to the Common Assessment Standard by one of the Recognised Assessment Bodies.
For individuals, cards carrying the CSCS logo provide evidence of their qualifications and training for the job that they do on site, as part of determining competence. Working Group 2, supported by the CLC, is continuing the drive to set out the competence framework (or ‘path to competence’) for each specialist installer occupation. It is intended that those elements which can be assessed will be reflected on the relevant CSCS card and that continued development to maintain the required level of competence will also be included once this work has been completed.
The CFA would like to welcome our newest Associate Contractor Member, Unique Flooring Solutions Ltd from Manchester
The CFA would like to welcome DSO Facility and Flooring Ltd, a new Contractor Member from Tyne and Wear.
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Build UK has updated its payment performance table with the latest results published under the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations. Their ‘tier one’ Contractor members pay invoices in an average of 29 days, down from 45 days when the table was launched in 2018, with 95% paid within 60 days.
HMRC and the Treasury are consulting on proposals for the UK carbon border adjustment mechanism, which will place a tax on certain carbon‐intensive imported goods, including cement, ceramics, and iron and steel, from 1 January 2027.
The deadline to submit a response is Thursday 13 June.
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The CFA’s annual golf event at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield took place on 18 April and was thankfully blessed with good weather (not guaranteed after all the rain we have had in recent months).
Following unprecedented demand for the event this year with 66 golfers taking part, the competition was run across two courses, the prestigious Brabazon course (the spiritual home of the Ryder Cup) and the PGA course.
Following registration where all competitors were given Belfry goody bags including golf balls specially branded to mark the CFA’s 50th Anniversary, the golfers enjoyed a bacon roll and a hot drink to start the day. The driving range was kept busy with many of the golfers making use of their free practice tokens before teeing off.
The Longest Drive had been allocated to the 16th hole on the Brabazon course and the 12th hole on the PGA. Nearest the Pin was allocated to the 7th hole on the Brabazon and the 3rd hole on the PGA.
After completion of their rounds the golfers enjoyed a well-deserved drink and buffet whilst they waited for the scores to be compiled and the winners announced.
This year the competition had sponsors for the prizes, and we would like to thank them all for their support.
After a very close competition, the results were as follows:
We would like to thank all those members who made bookings for continuing to support this extremely popular event.
We will be booking the 2025 event very soon and so please keep an eye on the CFA newsletter for it being launched in due course.
Photos from the event can be found in our member area in the CFA Events section.
The CFA would like to welcome Elite Flooring Solutions, a new Associate Contractor from Scotland.
Alan Mak has been confirmed as the new Construction Minister and will take up the position of Co‐Chair on the CLC and join its regular industry calls. Previously Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and a Government Whip, he succeeds Nusrat Ghani who held the post for 16 months.
The CFA would like to welcome Blade Flooring Ltd, a new Contractor Member from Bedfordshire.
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The CFA would like to welcome back Ege Carpets, a Manufacturer Member from Chorley.
The CFA would like to welcome XL Flooring Limited, a New Associate Contractor Member from Herefordshire.
The Cabinet Office has published Procurement Policy Note 03/24 which removes reference to PAS 91 meaning the Common Assessment Standard should now be used across the public sector. Following the withdrawal of PAS 91 by BSI last year, central Government departments and wider public sector bodies can only use the Common Assessment Standard for pre‐qualifying suppliers for construction works contracts. The changes to the PPN must be implemented by contracting authorities within three months, and it is another significant step forward for the Common Assessment Standard, which will help to reduce duplication for the supply chain whilst streamlining public sector procurement.
In recognition of how it is transforming pre‐qualification, the Common Assessment Standard has been shortlisted for the CN Awards 2024 in the Supply Chain Collaboration Excellence category. The Common Assessment Standard has reached a tipping point over the last 12 months, with a growing list of contractors and clients specifying it and more than 18,500 companies certified against it by five Recognised Assessment Bodies. It is also being updated to ensure it can be used to demonstrate companies have the organisational capability to fulfil their roles under the Building Safety Act.
Source: Build UK (11.4.24)
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The CFA would like to welcome Fineline Flooring Limited, a New Contractor Member from Hampshire.
As part of a package of reforms to support small businesses, the Government has committed £60 million to enable up to 20,000 more apprenticeships, primarily for young people. The Government has confirmed that for new starts from 1 April where employers do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy it will fund all the apprenticeship training costs, up to the funding band maximum, for apprentices aged between 16 and 21 years old when they start their apprenticeship training. CITB has confirmed to that there will be no changes to its apprenticeship grants.
For employers that pay the Apprenticeship Levy, the Government is also increasing the amount of funding that can be transferred to other employers. Employers can now transfer up to 50% of their funds (previously 25%) to help employers in their supply chain and other SMEs pay for the delivery of apprenticeships. Members that pay the Apprenticeship Levy can use the Apprenticeship Levy Transfer to advertise the opportunity via their apprenticeship service account, with the option to specify that only certain employers in particular sectors or regions can apply in order to target skills shortages within their supply chains. Once advertised, other employers can view the opportunities and submit an application for funding.
From 6 April, a number of changes to family friendly and flexible working rights come into force and employers are being encouraged to review and update their policies in line with the following:
ACAS will be publishing a Code of Practice in April with guidance on dealing with flexible working requests, and CFA members can access free advice on employment law issues from Citation by calling 0161 504 0843 - please see the CFA benefits and helplines documents for full details of this helpline (Member area of website).
At the Government’s Business Connect conference earlier this week, the Prime Minister announced a package of reforms to support small businesses, including:
In what the Government is calling the ‘year of the SME’, it has also established a new Small Business Council to oversee the following key areas for small businesses: access to finance, skills and support, and removing barriers.
Small Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake said:
"Small firms are at the heart of our communities and the engine of our economy – which is why the work of this council is so important. My own experience of working in a small business has given me crucial insights to the problems that SMEs face on a daily basis, from barriers to growth or access to finance.
We’re giving small firms a big voice, so they can directly air their concerns to government without delay – only when we work together can we tackle some of the burning issues SMEs are facing – only then can we help boost jobs and grow the economy."
Flooring industry representation on the Small Business Council will be via Build UK Chair Julie White.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) continues to monitor anti‐competitive behaviour in construction, and Build UK’s guidance, produced with Wedlake Bell LLP, explains common violations of competition law and the potential sanctions to help businesses understand the risks.
Source: Build UK (14.3.24)
The Chancellor yesterday delivered his Spring Budget, billed as the ‘Budget for Long Term Growth’. Promising a ‘high wage, high skilled economy’ through more investment, lower taxes and better public services, the key points for businesses in construction included:
The Chancellor also announced was additional investment in new housing projects, an extension of the Long‐Term Plans for Towns to 20 new places, and a new £160 million deal to acquire two sites to develop nuclear power, stating that ‘stimulating investment is the most effective way to raise productivity and therefore wages and living standards’.
Whilst this was a Budget clearly focused on households, which is unsurprising given that it is the last Budget before a General Election, it had very little for the housing market and house building despite the sharp fall in demand. Private house building in December 2023 was already 25% lower than in October 2022, just after the Government’s Mini Budget that led to the initial spike in interest and mortgage rates. Furthermore, house building is likely to decline further this year based on the sharp falls in housing new orders and house building starts in 2023 H2.
Budget 2024 did say that “The government continues to invest in infrastructure and will deliver over £600 billion of planned public sector investment over the next five years” but the reality is that infrastructure output in December 2023 was 15% lower than a year earlier.
Of the few bright spots for construction product manufacturers the extension of full expensing to leased assets will benefit smaller companies in particular, and the CPA are urging draft legislation to be brought forward as soon as possible so that this measure can be made permanent. The CPA also noted the Chancellor’s ambition to find productivity gains across public services and, given that government is the largest UK construction client, significant gains could be realised with the implementation of existing proposals such as the Construction Playbook, which sets out key policies and guidance for how public projects and programmes are assessed, procured and delivered.
Sources: Build UK and CPA (7.3.24)
The Government has published the increases in Companies House fees that will apply from 1 May 2024 following th
e introduction of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act.
The cost of filing a confirmation statement online will rise from £13 to £34, whilst a paper version will increase from £40 to £62.
The CFA would like to welcome AOC Flooring Limited, a New Associate Contractor from Gloucester.
The CFA would like to welcome Patchwork Flooring Contractors Limited, a New Contractor Member from Kingswinford.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a new campaign to highlight the risk of asbestos in buildings and raise awareness of the legal duty to manage those risks. HSE’s Asbestos – Your Duty campaign targets those responsible for managing asbestos in the building (dutyholders), which could be the building owner, the landlord for the premises, the business owner, or the person or organisation with clear responsibility for the building’s maintenance or repair.
The duty to manage asbestos ensures dutyholders must protect people from the risks of exposure to asbestos, including people who work in or on their buildings, and people that use them in other ways. The duty applies to a range of buildings, including non-domestic premises like factories, warehouses, offices and shops; and public buildings like hospitals, schools, premises used for religious worship, and museums and libraries. In addition, common parts of domestic premises are included such as foyers and corridors, lifts and lift-shafts, and staircases.
The Asbestos – Your Duty campaign provides dutyholders with a range of resources including updated webpages, new templates – including an asbestos management plan template, and explanatory videos – all of which can be found on HSE’s website.
A few simple questions can help identify if oyu have a legal duty to manage asbestos - answer the questions here
More information about the duty to manage asbesos can be found here
In 2023 HSE launched its Asbestos and You campaign which was supported by the CFA.
We would like to remind readers that the CFA has specific advice on flooring within their Guide to Contract Flooring - see sections 3 and 4.
Here we have our full archive of previous news posts available to view in date-order.
