SPRA Awards Luncheon 2025 – Hilton NEC Birmingham – June 12th 2025
This year’s SPRA Awards will take place at the fabulous Hilton NEC Birmingham. This glittering event will showcase the fantastic achievements of the single ply roofing sector’s suppliers and contractors, for projects completed during 2024.
Ticketing has opened through the SPRA website with limited ‘Early bird’ and ‘Table of 10’ discounted tickets available until the end of this month. Tickets are selling really well so ensure you book yours as soon as possible.
Sponsorship – Limited opportunities available!
There are still a few opportunities to be a SPRA sponsor at this fabulous SPRA event. Contact enquiries@spra.co.uk for further information.
SPRA Awards 2025 – Submit your entries now!
Any single ply roofing project completed during 2024 is eligible for consideration for an award in the various categories set.
This year will feature the following award categories for projects completed in 2024:
- Best Detailing
- Best New Build
- Best Refurbishment
- Best Small Project (≤100m²)
- Health and Safety Award
- Sustainability Award
Entries for the SPRA Awards 2025 and now being accepted up to 30th April. More information can be found in our Awards Top Tips Brochure.
We look forward to receiving your project entries: Submit your entries here!
SPRA Golf Day 2025 – Carden Park, Cheshire – 4th September 2025
Another date for your diary this year is the SPRA Golf Day returning to Carden Park in Cheshire. This is another event that provides an opportunity for members and their guests to compete on the Nicklaus championship course as well as enjoy the entertainment at the lavish dinner and golf awards taking place later that evening. This year there will be opportunities for non-golfers to enjoy some of the other facilities that this wonderful venue has to offer. So mark this date in your diary as ticketing will open soon.
Sponsorship – Limited opportunities available!
There are still a few opportunities to be a SPRA sponsor at this fabulous SPRA event. Contact enquiries@spra.co.uk for further information.
Training & Competency Development
SPRA are running a number of training and competency development opportunities. These include Specialist Applied-Skills Programme (SAP) as well as upskilling, assessment and training (SUP/OSAT) for contractors’ installers.
These high-quality specialist training programmes for single ply roofers can lead to the Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Waterproofing Systems – Single Ply Membranes. SPRA contractor members benefit from reduced course rates and CITB registered companies can also access CITB grant funding.
Wind Load Calculation Protocol (WLCP)
These online sessions based on existing SPRA published guidance are very popular with members and non-members. They consist of one set of three 2-hour sessions. The sessions are based on the SPRA guidance document Wind Loading – Protocol for calculations (S11b/19) with extensive reference to the appropriate standards and other industry guidance that underpin this document. SPRA members again benefit from reduced course rates.
Contact SPRA for further information and to register your employees now.
SPRA joining other Trade Associations in Support of CCPI
Leading trade associations, including SPRA, across the manufacturing and supply sector are signing up to support CCPI. In signing the Trade Associate pledge, trade associations are committing to support and promote the Code for Construction Product Information (CCPI) and its registration and assessment process to their members with the aim to drive a transformational step change in construction product information and management. This is an important move to build back trust in construction product information and marketing and drive positive culture change across the sector.
Important Note
SPRA members should not and cannot in any way imply to any third party in PR/marketing that they are registered and have been assessed through the CCPI process as a result of SPRA being an Associate CCPI member. They must go through the full CCPI process with CPI Ltd directly.
Build UK – CITB Consensus Survey – Deadline 17th April 2025 for CITB Levy Payers
The latest CITB Consensus process is now underway and Build UK, as one of 14 ‘Prescribed Organisations’, is required to formally consult its in-scope members on whether the Levy Proposals for 2026 – 2029 are necessary to provide adequate training in the industry and then submit a collective response on their behalf by the deadline of 9 May.
Build UK members that are liable to pay the CITB Levy should have received our Consensus Survey – either directly to their nominated Levy contact or via their Trade Association – asking for their views. The deadline to complete the survey is Thursday 17 April and please ensure your organisation takes this opportunity to have its say on the continuation of the Levy.
Please note
- The survey will close onThursday 17 April 2025
- That this isnot a vote on the future of CITB itself; it is a say on how CITB will generate the Levy over the period 2026-2029
- This survey is only to be completed by members that are likely to pay the CITB Levy in the period 2026-2029
- The person completing the survey must have the authority to respond on behalf of their company
To confirm, the CITB Levy proposal for the period 2026-2029 is:
- A PAYE payroll contribution of 0.35% and
- A net CIS contribution of 1.25%
- Employers with an annual wage bill of less than £150k will be exempt; and
- Employers with an annual wage bill of between £150k and £500k will receive a 50% deduction on the Levy assessment, so that
- Employers will only pay the full assessment if their annual wage bill is £500k or above
- No other Levy Exemptions Schemes shall apply
As indicated above Build UK has updated its ‘Levy In Skills Out’ proposal for members to consider as part of this year’s consultation process and please could SPRA members:
- Review this proposal and provide any feedback
- Could SPRA members please provide their feedback to Build UK directly
- Provide all feedback to sisman@builduk.org by Thursday 17 April.
Source Build UK/CITB
CPA Trade Survey 2025 Q1
The CPA’s State of Trade Survey for Q1 is now open. Please can you to fill in (or send on to someone else in your organisation or your members to complete) on the state of trade in your sub-sector during the January-March period of 2025.
The deadline is the end of Monday 7 April and the CPA would encourage you to respond so that they can present a comprehensive view of the industry’s near-term performance. The survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CPASurvey25Q1.
All responses are kept strictly confidentially and results will be presented on an aggregate basis only.
CPA Construction Trade Survey Q4 2024
Find the Construction Trade Survey here!
Source:CPA
CITB Strategic Plan Published
CITB has launched its Strategic Plan 2025‐29 ahead of Consensus to outline how it will help the industry to meet its skills and training needs over the next four years. CITB’s purpose is to support the industry to develop a skilled, competent and inclusive workforce now and in the future, and the Strategic Plan sets out three key objectives:
- Inspire and enable diverse and skilled people into construction by increasing new entrants through materials and campaigns showcasing the industry.
- Develop a training and skills system to meet current and future needs by making it simpler and more responsive and providing increased capability and capacity in construction training provision.
- Support the industry to train, develop and retain its workforce by leading the development of an industry‐agreed definition of competence for every construction occupation and reviewing grant and funding incentives for employers.
Building Safety Update
Philip White, Chief Inspector of Buildings and Director of Building Safety at the HSE, has published a letter on the use of BS 9991 in relation to applications for Building Control Approval, which is supported by an advisory note from the CLC. They confirm the position set out by Build UK in January and include the following transitional dates:
- Planning applications made from the date of publication of the CLC advisory note on 17 March 2025 should use BS 9991:2024
- Gateway Two applications where a project has previously progressed a design using BS 9991:2015 are required to state how and why the building work remains compliant with the Building Regulations
- From 30 September 2026, Gateway Two applications should use BS 9991:2024.
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) joined the Build UK Building Safety call last week to give an update on Gateway Two and members had the opportunity to raise their latest queries about the application process. Having pledged to clear the backlog of applications submitted up to July 2024 by the end of this financial year, the BSR committed again to working with industry to improve the process and provide more feedback to applicants. It highlighted the importance of the description of the work included within applications which serves as a ‘project summary’, and Build UK has followed up with the BSR for information on exactly what is required in order to update our overview of the validation stage.
Source: Build UK/CITB
CPA Weekly UK Economic and Construction Update
The latest weekly update is available here, including:
- ONS UK Construction Wage Inflation (January 2025)
- RIBA Future Trends Survey (February 2025)
- Insolvency Service UK Construction Insolvencies (January 2025)
Please note that the CPA has consistently highlighted to members and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) significant problems with the ONS construction output data since the energy and commodity price spikes in 2022. This has meant that the ONS has been underestimating price inflation and overestimating the volume of construction output, which particularly appears to affect key sectors such as private housing rm&i. The ONS publicly acknowledged today that this is an issue and that it is more wide-ranging than construction, as it may also affect the ONS’s manufacturing and services data, as well as its imports and exports data. However, the ONS has so far given no details of what will be done to address the problems or when these issues will be resolved. As we take this further with the ONS directly, it would be helpful to be aware of any problems you may have also had with the data.
Source: CPA
CPA Winter Forecasts
The CPA’s Winter Forecasts were published on Monday 27 January and is available for members to download from the CPA Website, along with the accompanying webinar hosted by Noble Francis.
There will be a Spring Statement Special of the Weekly Notes sent out on Wednesday 26th March.
Source: CPA
Building Safety Regulator Launches Review
The Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR’s) Technical Policy team is planning an official review of the Approved Documents (ADs) the statutory guidance documents that advise on how to meet the Building Regulations which is expected to build on the findings of an expert group that was set up by the Government in line with a recommendation in Dame Judith Hackitt’s Interim Report on Building Regulations and Fire Safety in 2020. More information on the review and how to take part can be found here.
Source: CPA/BSR
Building Safety Regulator Webinars
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is hosting a series of free webinars designed to provide practical advice and guidance on a range of building safety topics. Each session has been designed with a specific audience in mind. It’s important that delegates only register for those webinars most relevant to them to ensure all delegates get the most benefit from the session. Places are limited so early registration is advised. Further information and registration can be found here.
Source: CPA/BSR
Unpacking the impact of the government’s response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase 2 report
The CPA’s Technical Manager Mark Wilkinson will be a speaker on a webinar on the 1st of April at 11:00 as they unpack the key recommendations from the inquiry, the government’s planned actions, and their potential impact on housing providers, councils, developers, and tenants. The webinar is being hosted by building.co.uk and you can register here for the event.
Key discussion points include:
- A breakdown of the government’s response and its alignment with the inquiry’s findings.
- The evolving regulatory landscape for fire safety, cladding remediation, and building accountability.
- Implications for registered providers, councils, and construction professionals.
- The role of tenant engagement and advocacy in driving cultural change.
- Long-term challenges and opportunities for delivering safer homes.
Source: CPA
Routes of Entry
Following the recent changes to CSCS cards and withdrawal of the Onsite Construction T Level, Build UK has updated its guides setting out the most common routes of entry into the industry for young people leaving school in England and Scotland, designed to help identify which is the most appropriate for them. More skills and training news can be found in our latest Recruiting, Training and Retaining Talent update.
Source: Build UK/CSCS
Industry Accreditation
CITB has announced that the funding available to support individuals impacted by the withdrawal of CSCS cards obtained via Industry Accreditation at the end of last year will be extended until 31 March 2026. There is an achievement grant of £1,250 for certain supervision S/NVQs and £1,500 for certain management S/NVQs.
Source: Build UK/CITB