黑洞社区

The construction industry has welcomed the government鈥檚 pledge to bring forward a new bill for the next phase of HS2 in the Queens Speech, but has expressed concern at the absence of detail about other major projects.

Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) director of external affairs Marie-Claude Hemming said: 鈥淲e welcome the announcement of a bill to deliver the next phase of HS2, but this is just one of many schemes that the UK must press ahead with to shore up the economy.

鈥淚n particular, we would like to hear more detail about the government鈥檚 plans for Crossrail 2, which was conspicuous in its absence from the Conservative manifesto.

鈥淭his is just one of a range of schemes that we must now prioritise and bring forward to market to deliver post-Brexit growth.鈥�

Darren Reed, WSP UK head of rail, said: 鈥淭he backing of the next phase of HS2 to provide much needed capacity for the UK rail network, alongside the Chancellor鈥檚 plans to expand financial support for infrastructure projects, is the reassurance the industry has been waiting for.

鈥淎s we enter Brexit talks, we need more than ever to invest in game-changing infrastructure and develop economic corridors that better connect cities and drive economic growth across the UK.鈥�

The government also pledged to continue to push forward with its plans to build more new homes and promote fairness and transparency in the housing market, but Mark Robinson, chief executive at Scape Group, has pointed out a lack of detailed planning in how this will happen.

鈥淚t is disappointing that nothing more has been said today on the housing market than what was revealed in February鈥檚 long-awaited White Paper,鈥� he said.

鈥淵es, more homes need to be built and, yes, the increasing lack of affordable housing needs to be tackled, but a clear strategy has to be put in place first if we are to make any real progress.鈥�

Meanwhile in a speech dominated by Brexit, which began formal negotiations this week, little was mentioned about the government鈥檚 stance on immigration.

Liz Jenkins, partner at law firm Clyde & Co commented that 鈥渢here was a brief mention of an immigration bill, which doesn鈥檛 give much away about Theresa May鈥檚 current thinking on the issue and her stance towards it, with Brexit negotiations in mind.

鈥淗owever, you would expect and certainly hope that her position has softened somewhat given the election results. In recent days both the Chancellor and Damian Green have come out with the message that jobs and the economy will come first when it comes to Brexit, which perhaps suggests that cutting immigration is no longer a top priority.

鈥淲e all know that the skills shortage for the construction industry is a critical issue that needs addressing. We must continue to make noise about this, so that the government is aware of just how severe a situation this could become post-Brexit.鈥�