Clair Prosser, press officer at BSRIA.
When asked if the Brexit negotiations presented members’ businesses with opportunities in the last 18 months, 63 percent answered “negatively”; with 37 per cent answering “no difference”. No member answered “positively”.
The negative response was due to respective businesses suffering from a lack of market investment and skills, as well as business uncertainty and movement of labour.
Regarding issues which will be of the most importance to the construction industry in the outcome of the UK-EU negotiations, members highlighted consistency of regulations, consistency of standards, UK influence on regulations, UK influence on standards, and access to the single market.
When asked if they favoured the hard Brexit Canada model of bilateral trade agreements with the EU; the soft Brexit Norway model, in which the country is a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) instead of the EU; or the soft Brexit Switzerland model, whereby the country is a member of European Free Trade Association (EFTA), half of BSRIA members indicated their preference for the Switzerland model. Meanwhile, 31 percent chose the Norway model and 19 percent the Canada model.
BSRIA press officer Clair Prosser, Press Officer, BSRIA said: “Business uncertainty and the need for consistency, regulations, and standards are without a shadow of doubt anxieties for members. Legislative stability and uniformity is essential. Businesses need to be able to prepare and balance is needed; this isn’t the time for the Government to bury its head in the sand. The question needs to be asked: how close will the UK and EU stay on regulation to ensure that industry can trade goods with the minimum of hassle, burdens and bureaucratic hurdles?
I would like to thank members for putting comment to keyboard for this timely survey.”
These results mirror the Property Week recent survey in which more than two thirds said that the vote had negatively affected the property market and a similar number thought the market would continue to be impacted after the UK leaves the EU.
The Government’s EU Exit Business Advisory Group will be meeting next week. These regular meetings bring together Chancellor Philip Hammond and secretaries of state David Davis and Greg Clark with the CBI and other major cross-sectoral business organisations, providing a platform for businesses to provide input to the Government regarding the Brexit process.