ECA welcomes Queen’s Speech promises with plans for skills, safety and net zero

The ECA has welcomed the Queen’s Speech, which outlined several new pieces of legislation to deliver cleaner energy, safer homes, and higher standards for skills and education.

It was announced in the Queen’s Speech that the Government will introduce:

• An Energy Bill to deliver cheaper, cleaner, more secure energy.
• A UK Infrastructure Bank, to support the growth and delivery of net zero solutions.
• A Higher Education Bill to introduce a Lifelong Loan Entitlement for adults wishing to retrain or upskill.
• A simplified procurement process to provide new opportunities for small businesses.
• New legislation to improve the regulation of social housing, to strengthen the rights of tenants and ensure better quality, safer homes.

Andrew Eldred, ECA Director of Workforce and Public Affairs, says: “Today’s speech showed a commitment to delivering net zero along with a recognition of the vital importance of better technical education and skills.

“We hope to see this promise realised in a tranche of new funding and support for industry-endorsed training to deliver the EV charge points, solar panels, heat pumps and battery storage systems that will place the UK in pole position in the race to net zero carbon.”

ECA Director of Legal and Business Rob Driscoll comments: “In leading the Cabinet Office’s SME Advisory Group on payment, ECA has worked hard with Government to design a post-Brexit environment allowing for simplified procurement.

“The announcement in today’s speech should lay the ground for establishing UK procurement processes which embrace and unlock the potential of SME contractors as Government seeks to build back better.”

Mike Smith, ECA Technical Director, says: “ECA and our industry partners have fought hard (and sometimes uphill) to improve the safety of people’s homes. While the recent Building Safety Act has brought us closer to our goal, today’s announcement should help provide a more uniform approach to electrical safety in social housing, including high rise residential buildings like Grenfell Tower.

“We expect further legislation to highlight competency as a key factor in making homes safer for residents, and we will be keeping a very close eye on developments to make sure that is the case.”