Newly appointed MPA Chief Executive, Paul Adeleke, has welcomed the government’s overhaul of public procurement and called for Prime Minister Andy Burnham to go further in backing UK producers of building stone.
Last week the Prime Minister announced policy revisions to favour UK jobs in government procurement by reframing procurement rules to support firms bidding for public contracts worth more than £5m that create and sustain local jobs. But that overlooks smaller contracts for the supply of materials like building stone – also known as dimension stone – leaving the door wide open to imports from overseas.
In letters to the Secretaries of State for Housing and Business, Angela Rayner and Jonathan Reynolds respectively, as well as Cabinet Office Minister Louise Haigh, Paul Adeleke calls for UK-sourced materials – including dimension stone – to be included the government’s programme to get Britain building again.
The UK’s diverse geology has not only played a role in the construction of our towns and cities for centuries, but has made a critical contribution to their character and a 'sense of place' in different parts of the country – from the ‘granite city’ of Aberdeen to the majestic Portland stone of central London.
But the MPA says the UK’s remaining dimension stone quarries that support this distinctive architecture are fighting for their future. The sector is not just about heritage; it depends on the new-build housing market and the creation of new public spaces and civic buildings to secure an economically viable future.
Mr Adeleke said: “We welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to UK business in public procurement, but the weighting for businesses that sustain UK jobs should be extended to contracts below £5m to have the right impact with local producers.
“There have been too many recent examples of imported stone being used in place of UK stone in streetscapes across the UK, including Portuguese limestone replacing Portland stone in London, and Angolan granite being used in place of Scottish whinstone in Glasgow. This cannot be right.
“Our building stone sector is coming under increasing pressure from foreign imports, that now account for some 80% of the market. The Prime Minister has said he wants to preserve ‘sovereign manufacturing’ and the UK’s dimension stone industry is a prime example. And besides the supply of domestic materials, our members support highly-skilled and well-paying jobs in rural communities across different UK regions.”
