The output of the Scottish economy contracted by 0.2% during the fourth quarter of 2016, according to statistics announced on 5 April by Scotland’s Chief Statistician.
Change in gross domestic product (GDP) is the main indicator of economic growth in Scotland. The latest Gross Domestic Product release, covering the period October to December 2016, shows that total output in the economy contracted by 0.2% compared to the previous three months. On an annual basis, compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, the output of the Scottish economy was flat (0.0% change).
During the fourth quarter of 2016 output in the services industry in Scotland was flat (0.0% change), while production contracted by 0.9% and construction contracted by 0.8%.
Over the calendar year (i.e. 2016 vs 2015), the Scottish economy grew by 0.4%.
Industries which represent a large proportion of the economy or which have big quarterly changes have the most impact on overall GDP. The industry which has had the greatest contribution to change in the output of the Scottish economy in the fourth quarter of 2016 is Production (which accounted for 0.2 percentage points of contraction).
Further to our news article on 1 February ‘Duty to Report on Payment Practices and Performance’, as of 6 April, large companies and Limited Liability Partnerships will be required to start reporting on their payment practices and performance for their next financial year.
“Late and unfair payment terms are a significant threat to small business survival, tightening cash flow and impairing their ability to self-invest and grow. According to BACs, the UK’s small-and-medium sized firms are currently owed £26 billion in overdue payments” writes Small Business Minister, Margot James, in the Telegraph Small Business Connect.
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) make up 99.9% of all UK businesses, creating 60% of all private sector employment. In turn, contributing 47% of all UK private sector turnover. When the UK’s small businesses thrive, the whole country benefits.
As I’m sure you are all aware by now, I, as current President of the FIS, took it upon myself as a martyr to the cause to take a week out of my busy schedule and go to the American drywall and suspended ceilings EXPO (completely funded by my own bank account). And yes, it was in Vegas, and yes, I had a great time. But what did I learn……
Well, our counterparts in the States – the AWCI – gave my wife and I a very warm welcome. The FIS got a mention in the President’s opening speech and the 350 delegates gave us a pleasant reception. During the Expo (which in the Queen’s English is a conference and an exhibition rolled into one) I got to speak to many American contractors, and you know what? Their world is not that different from ours with one large exception; did you know at least 50% of the US drywall / suspended ceiling sectors’ labour force has to be employed via a union! As with all Unions, they have lots of bureaucracy and caveats to how their people are employed! Dismiss one person for being idle and not pulling their weight and you could have a walk-out on your hands! I got talking to a chap called Chip, he said to directly employ a ceiling fixer it costs him $20 an hour. The individual’s actual cost including van, fuel, insurance, health care, pension etc, was $40 an hour. To employ a ceiling fixer in say New York through the union….$90 an hour……Bizarre. I can’t get my head around why the country at the forefront of Capitalism has a union provide its labour!!
Other than that the things we have in common; The subcontractors struggle to get paid from the main contractors…..snap. The subcontractors struggle to get their retention from the main contractors….snap. Programmes are too tight…. snap. And the big one; they have a serious skills shortage. Bingo. Full house. It seems for as long as they can remember they have been reliant on a leaky border with Mexico to supply around 30% of the workforce.
And then the newly appointed President Trump said: “We’re going to build a wall”……. well, what’s going to happen? The Union doesn’t want to put their hands in their pockets, the manufacturers don’t see it’s their responsibility, the subcontractors are all shrugging their shoulders. I told them they were lucky, at least they didn’t have CITB levy on top of all that! The American joke on top of all that is if the wall is going to be bricks and mortar…..they haven’t got enough brickies to build it this side of the next millennium!
The other topic I couldn’t get my head around was Health & Safety. Which considering from the nation that invented “where there’s a blame there’s a claim” their health and safety doesn’t compare to us. Go to the FIS website click on news and take a look at; the best in class, best in show, the US best-selling scaffold. You wouldn’t get as far as getting it out the back of your van over here, no adjustment on the feet, no handrail, no toe boards, manufactured out of steel rather than aluminium and that was the best they had to offer!
So I attended the awards brunch, and to be honest it was a little subdued compared to the razzamatazz of our awards at the Dorchester in June. It was different. But then you must remember the UK is roughly the same size as the state of Florida. The US is made up of 52 States. I’m attending the awards for the best of the best from 52 states. There are 350 people in the hall, of which the half of the attendees living on the east coast actually live closer to me in Birmingham than they do to the other half of the attendees that live in the same country on the west coast. Therefore, half of the room don’t know the other half. Whereas with our little club at the Dorchester there are 480 people, music, lights, applause, and jeers. And we all know somebody, who knows somebody, that can tell us about somebody.
So my day at the exhibition ; If you want to see some of my video blogs of what the hottest things on the US market are, click here for Hilti’s photographic Bluetooth laser measuring device, Hilti’s BIM digital laser measuring scan device (that enables you to mark (or survey) a whole floor of walls and ceilings without having to use a drawing or a tape measure!) safety clips that tie back boards leaning up walls so they can’t fall over. Plasterboard routering device that cuts and folds board with zero dust. Handheld pole sanders with dust extraction. 5ft high stilts. Lorries with Hiab’s on the back that can lift a pallet of plasterboard 8 storeys high and slide the pallet sideways through a window!
One of the things that became apparent during my visit is that unlike here in Blighty the US don’t have installation systems from the manufacturer. It is taken as the norm for an unbranded metal to be installed with a sheetrock (that’s plasterboard to you and me) with an unbranded deflection /fire head detail, with unbranded insulation with unbranded fixings with unbranded joint filler. That’s the norm. Consequently, there is a huge interest from China at the EXPO to get their products into the US market. It’s fascinating, how does the client know what he’s paying for? Have you just installed a pig’s ear or a silk purse? This wasn’t just the walls, it was ceilings as well, especially metal ceilings.
With value engineering in the UK is that something that could happen over here?
So all in all, the trip broadened my horizons. It was informative and interesting and I hope one day that the AWCI president and first lady will attend one of our functions if for nothing else than to watch their faces when one of our Geordie, Scouse, Brummie, Welsh or Cockney members try to converse with them. Because personally, my trip would have only been half empty without my Texan friend Randy who entertained me no end at the awards brunch.
A huge thanks to the AWCI for making me feel so welcome.
April’s edition of the Joint Taxation Committee’s Newsline provides information on the Reverse Charge Consultation. Please email your feedback to Liz Bridge: liz@thetaxbridge.com
A summary of the data from the Markit/CIPS Construction PMI for March revealed that weaker housing activity growth weighed on the UK construction sector.
Other key findings included:
Business activity growth eased in March
Housing slowdown offset rebound in civil engineering and commercial work
Input price inflation slowed further from January’s peak.
FIS president Steve Coley attended the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry’s Annual Convention 26-30 March 2017.
Steve represented FIS at the American association’s event and brought us the latest news, products and systems direct from the convention and Intex Exhibition.
Visiting the Intex exhibition, Steve is checking out the latest technology: plasterboard routing and cutting system:
Here is the latest in estimating software:
Steve demonstrates the new Hilti PD-C. The device captures and saves measurement data directly onto digital photographs taken with a camera integrated into the laser range meter.
Here, Steve demonstrates a Hilti Precision Layout Tool (PLT). The BIM drawing is entered, lasers track around the room and the prism detector sends the information back to the pad to allow the track to be set-out correctly.
This is a CGI of how the Americans deliver plasterboard to buildings up to eight storeys high!
The FIS skills team will be showcasing its flagship BuildBack programme at Tyne Metropolitan College’s open day on 10 April. This will provide an opportunity to celebrate the success of the first pilot scheme which has taken place in Newcastle.
The demand for a place on the BuildBack programme has been excellent with more than 30 people applying for the initial 10 places. Trainee selection has now started for the second pilot and the skills team will be looking to extend the scheme to other fit-out skills and to other areas of the country.
Working in collaboration with CITB and in partnership with Tyne Metropolitan College, Jobcentre Plus and Dry Lining & Plastering Training Forum (DLPTF), the programme is designed to provide opportunities for job seekers who are serious about developing a career in drylining. Trainees complete a two-week Specialist Upskilling Programme (SUP) in drylining at Tyne Metropolitan College to develop the skills and competencies required, followed by two weeks’ work placement on-site with a local employer. All trainees will be offered at least one job interview and those who secure full-time employment with an employer will have their fees paid for ongoing training to NVQ Level 2 in drylining. In addition, each trainee will receive free personal protective equipment (PPE) from Encon Group and obtain their CSCS card.
Paul Glover, BuildBack project manager said “Now that the SUP and work experience elements of the BuildBack programme have been completed for the first cohort, I was delighted to hear that one member of the team has already been offered a job with the employer he was placed with. This shows that the BuildBack programme works and I’m now looking forward to hearing how the rest of the of the trainees proceed during the interview stage.”
FIS president Steve Coley and MP for North Tyneside, Mary Glindon, will be attending the BuildBack open day. Along with representatives from our partnerships and local employers, they will experience first-hand the trainees putting their drylining training into practice.
To download the BuildBack brochures and watch the progress videos, click here.
Smart gloves embedded with tiny sensors have been developed by Nottingham Trent University to help protect workers from exposure to vibration. The technology will warn wearers to stop work when a dangerous level of exposure to vibrations is about to be experienced.
Workers most at risk are those who regularly use power tools such as concrete breakers, sanders, grinders, hammer drills and chainsaws. According to the HSE, more than 10,000 claims have been made for vibration white finger and carpal tunnel syndrome over the last decade.
The smart gloves look just like a traditional pair of worker’s gloves and can be washed without any damage to the technology. The vibration sensors are only two millimetres long and are encapsulated and embedded into the yarns which are knitted into the gloves.
