Uncertain times weigh heavily on our sector

Well, here we are again. Like you, I’d hoped we wouldn’t need to address the issues of Brexit again having been promised faithfully that we would definitely be leaving on 31st October.

After a further delay for the parliamentary election, we now have a government with a large enough majority to make decisions. We now know when we will be leaving the EU – at the end of January. This adds some certainty but a timescale of 12 months to complete the trade deals creates another year of uncertainty. We are still left not knowing what kind of deal we’ll leave with – if we get one at all. And does anyone genuinely believe that the newly-formed Government will provide any new answers?

There seems a genuine prospect that this administration will struggle to overcome the three years of inertia that has damaged the country, the economy and the UK’s reputation.

It’s all made worse because Brexit was an issue that cut the country almost exactly in half and for the first time in living memory was not a decision that followed party lines or allegiances. It remains hugely destructive across all of UK society. It’s an argument that once it became inevitable, needed to be sorted quickly, even if painfully for those who disagreed with it.

The disharmony and instability it has created (whether the politicians are willing to recognise it or not) has caused huge damage to many business sectors – including our own.

It’s tempting to suggest that a badly thought out process, brought about by overly confident, possibly out-of-touch politicians, has left us with a sore running through society that is proving hugely damaging at every level.

But most worryingly, day by day, we see businesses struggling to survive, unable to make decisions about investment in personnel, equipment, growth. The uncertainty has reduced business decisions to a series of ‘finger in the wind’ guesses that inevitably tend to veer towards ‘safety first’ and delays that are seriously affecting the overall success of ‘UK Limited’.

It’s a mess. And what effect is it having on people in our sector? A recent survey by BESA – the Building and Engineering Services Association and the ECA – the Electrical Contractors Association, produced remarkable findings. The Scaffolding Association were one of 25 construction trade bodies that contributed feedback which generated these sobering figures: 90% of business owners across construction suffer a range of mental health issues due primarily to non-payment, as well as other business pressures; 80% are suffering from stress; 36% from depression; 38% from extreme anger; and 10% suggest they are even feeling suicidal because of the pressures on them. This is not acceptable. We cannot link these pressures directly to Brexit, but the uncertainty surrounding it will have played a major part in the problems that have given rise to late payment becoming commonplace.

Let’s hope that the new Government drive forward with positivity and purpose, but I’ve yet to speak to anyone who thinks that will be the case.

Robert Candy Chief Executive Scaffolding Association

www.scaffolding-association.org