News
March year-end? Don’t miss out on a valuable cash boost
FIS Associate Member ForrestBrown explains how the upcoming financial year-end could be an opportunity for members to get cash back from the tax man. If your accounting year-end is 31 March, it’s worth reading this. If you are an innovative business, this is your...
Budget Highlights for FIS Members 2020
Change and Coronavirus were the main themes of the Budget. It was a Budget warning of short term pain, but long term gain and the catchphrase was "Getting it Done". The good news for the construction sector was that this included "Getting Britain Building". The...
FIS Launches 3 Steps to Rebuilding Construction Campaign
Following our letter to the Chancellor, consultations with our membership and recent publication of the CBI State of Construction Report, FIS President, Helen Tapper, is recommending a three step approach to rebuilding construction: Step 1: Return to the principles...
Qualifying your Workforce: New NVQ funding opportunities for FIS CITB Levy paying members
From 1 April 2020, FIS members will be able to apply for up to £25,000 of funding from the CITB Skills and Training Fund. CITB launched the fund in 2016 to help small and medium businesses invest in their people. Since its launch, the fund has delivered over £20m of...
HSE issues asbestos guidance
HSE has issued a new guidance: Asbestos in some types of marble and other stone: assessing the risk Certain rocks and minerals, such as some types of marble and basalt, can occasionally contain very small amounts of naturally occurring asbestos. This guidance is for...
Futurebuild 2020
We will be exhibiting at Futurebuild from 3-5 March 2020 at the ExCel in London at stand C140 in Hall N8 in the Interiors area. We have some great membership and training offers lined up so come and see us and we will be delighted to talk to you. To find out more...
Fine margins: delivering financial sustainability in UK construction?
A new report by the CBI provides interesting insight into the health of the UK construction sector. Whilst it highlights that the construction industry is a vital part of the UK economy, it reinforces that the business models that underpin this are breaking. The...
FIS writes to Chancellor ahead of Budget 2020
Ahead of the 2020 Budget, FIS, the representative body for the finishing and interiors sector has written to the new Chancellor, Rt hon Rishi Sunak MP. In this letter FIS welcomes the new Government's focus on the Constructor Sector Deal, but cautions that legacy and...
Qualifications body reports on changing skills market
The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has produced a report looking at the changing skills landscape in construction, including the role virtual reality (VR) could play in assessment. The report points out that a high proportion of the industry’s workforce is...