CPA Bulletin

18 CPA Bulletin > August 2023 www.cpa.uk.net Just under a month ago, the House of Commons Transport Select Committee wrote to the Transport Secretary, expressing their disappointment at the government’s response to the Committee’s own report ‘Fuelling the Future’, accusing ministers of lacking clarity towards what fuels certain sectors and industries should be using. Just recently, the government’s own watchdog, the Climate Change Committee, accused it of lacking leadership, with efforts to decarbonise the economy as ‘worryingly slow’. With the government having already set legally binding targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, time is limited. Within the NRMM community itself, while construction equipment manufacturers are developing cleaner, greener, new technologies, and continue to develop engines to run on a variety of fuels, there remains a sense of drift. If the government is struggling with developing and implementing the infrastructure needed for cars to run on alternative fuels and ultimately, convince motorists to move away from diesel and petrol, the HGV and especially the NRMM sectors could well increasingly feel marginalised and taken for granted. Froma policy perspective, the CPA took part in the Department for Transport Low Carbon Fuels Strategy consultation inMarch last year. At the time of writing, the strategy remains unpublished, with the government promising it will be published by the end of the year. The last 18 months have seen a raft of consultations and reviews. Following the Low Carbon Fuels Consultation, the government launched the Skidmore Review into Net Zero. Led by Chris Skidmore MP, a former government minister, the CPA responded to this review, calling for, amongst other measures, a roadmap for NRMM decarbonisation, appropriate and proportionate policy measures that supports the construction plant sector, and a single dedicated government ministry responsible for decarbonisation in the NRMM sector. We also took part in the CLC Zero Diesel Sites Consultation Route Map call for evidence, and the Defra Air Quality Strategy from April this year. Government continues to call for evidence on a range of issues and areas that impact on net zero and the wider decarbonisation process, yet is now, accused of falling behind in terms of meeting its own commitments and providing the incentives and policies needed for industry to play its part and act. The question is, where does this leave policy makers and is there a role for a new type of industrial policy in government decision making when it comes to decarbonisation? The government’s approach to industrial policy has varied considerably, depending on how the UK economy is performing, and whichever party is in power. Afraid of being seen as ‘picking winners’, the UK’s approach towards industrial policy was to let the free market take hold, with elements of managed decline towards some industries unable to compete with overseas actors. It was only after the financial crisis of 2007/8 and Labour’s time in power came to an end, that an more active industrial strategy was developed - and even then, policy makers across Whitehall didn’t want to call it that. The Conservative led coalition government of 2010 - 2015 developed an industrial strategy of sorts, with a renewed emphasis on manufacturing and hi-tech industries. This wasn’t an attempt to support the ailing industries of the past but develop new ones for the future, alongside enhanced support for areas where the UK already had strengths such cutting edge automotive design and aerodynamic technology. Whether attempts to recreate a UK styled American Silicon Valley have ultimately proven successful is not entirely clear - innovation and the development of new technologies takes time - decades even. Certainly, beyond the typical four or five-year electoral cycle. While numerous construction strategies have been developed in recent years, the emphasis has always been on greater levels of collaboration and increased use of technology and innovation - themes which run back to government reports into the state of the construction industry since the mid-1960s. POLICY: 1 POLICY Bringing industrial policy back into fashion with decarbonisation? The government has recently been accused of underperforming when it comes to its approach to net zero and decarbonising the economy. In March it published ‘Powering up Britain - The Net Zero Growth Plan’ which was published as a result of calls for greater clarity on how the UK was to achieve net zero.