Builders Merchants Federation

Builders Merchants Federation

Category: Trade Association

The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) โ€œrepresents and protects the interests of builders merchants, plumbing, heating, roofing, decorative and timber merchants and their suppliersโ€, according to its website.

The BMF has called for more government support to help its members transition to cleaner vehicles but has also worked to water down or actively oppose measures designed to reduce air pollution, including Clean Air Zones (CAZ).

As of January 2020, the BMFโ€™s membership comprised 710 merchant and supplier companies, with a combined total of over 138,000 employees. Its members include Travis Perkins and companies in the multinational Saint-Gobain group, the two largest builders merchants in the UK. The organisation provides training and support to its members, as well as running numerous events during the year.

It describes itself as an โ€œactive lobbyist with local and central government in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Irelandโ€ with an โ€œimpressive track record of achievementsโ€.

In a section of its website dedicated to โ€œpolitical representationโ€, the BMF says it โ€œoffers reputable, balanced and convincing input to inform strategy, policy and funding options for Government and regulatory bodies and to protect our membersโ€™ interests against unwelcome or unworkable regulationsโ€.

It also notes that it works with influential bodies such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) to โ€œfurther the interests of the building material industryโ€.

The BMF publishes its own quarterly magazine, One Voice.

Funding

According to its 2018-19 annual report, the BMF reported revenue of ยฃ2.2 million, just under 60% of which came from member subscriptions, with the remainder from training sessions, rents and interest. It held net assets of ยฃ4.6 million.

Air Pollution Lobbying

On its website, the BMF states that clean air is โ€œessential for making sure our cities are welcoming and healthy places for people to live and workโ€ and by improving air quality, health impacts from pollutants can be reduced.

It has called for government support to help businesses replace older vehicles with cleaner models.

However, the BMF has also worked to weaken measures designed to improve air quality such as Clean Air Zones.

In 2018, the BMF described CAZs as a โ€œparticular problemโ€ for its members who it says have โ€œlittle or no choice but to use diesel HGVs to move heavy materialsโ€. It also argued electric vehicles are โ€œnot yet a realistic option, though this may change in the futureโ€.

The BMF said that lobbying of โ€œgovernment ministers and a number of councilsโ€ was โ€œunderwayโ€ in order to โ€œpersuade them not to penalise members unfairlyโ€. It argued for the introduction of the schemes to be delayed and for โ€œdiscounts or temporary exemptionsโ€ to be given to small and medium-sized businesses based โ€œin or near a new CAZโ€, as well as โ€œfunding or tax changesโ€ to help businesses upgrade their vehicles to cleaner models.

Earlier in the year, it wrote a joint letter urging central and local governments to โ€œproceed with cautionโ€ with regard to introducing CAZs, along with six other trade associations including the British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association and the Freight Transport Association.

In the letter reported in the Daily Express, they argued air quality was โ€œimproving anywayโ€ so CAZs would โ€œnot transform it – just bring forward the improvements that are comingโ€ and said HGVs needed more time to comply because โ€œdiesel is the only realistic option available at presentโ€. CAZs do not exclude the latest diesel vehicles.

The BMF wrote to Michael Gove while he was Environment Secretary, a position he held between June 2017 and July 2019, arguing that builders merchants should be given support to replace vehicles with cleaner models โ€œrather than introduce charging Clean Air Zonesโ€.

Its CEO John Newcomb said CAZs were โ€œlikely to represent another administrative and financial burdenโ€ and argued that the government and local authorities should โ€œexhaust all options before resorting to charging zonesโ€.

Responding to a consultation on the governmentโ€™s air quality policy, Newcomb said Clean Air Zones had โ€œthe potential to slow down construction, hamper delivery to our customers and increase the cost of running our membersโ€™ 4,800 branches across the UKโ€.

He argued that builders merchants had โ€œno choice but to use diesel vehicles to deliver to building sitesโ€ and urged the government to introduce a diesel scrappage scheme for HGVs and LGVs (light goods vehicles).

He also said that emissions charges would โ€œsignificantly increase the cost of delivering vital building supplies into towns and citiesโ€.

In 2017, the BMFโ€™s Policy and Public Affairs Manager Brett Amphlett wrote that the organisation was โ€œlobbying to mitigate proposals designed to improve public air quality that will adversely affect BMF merchants and their suppliers and customersโ€.

He also noted that the BMF had argued in a government consultation the previous year that local authorities should not be allowed to set charges themselves because they would be โ€œtempted to use it as a revenue-raising exerciseโ€.

In a statement the same year, the BMF said the problem of air pollution was โ€œhighly localised in natureโ€ and that measures such as better traffic management would be an effective solution.

Key Arguments in Order of Prominence

  1. Builders merchants have little or no choice about using diesel HGVs and electric vehicles are not currently a realistic option
  2. Diesel is being unfairly demonised
  3. Air quality is improving anyway so CAZs only speed up the inevitable
  4. Government support to upgrade vehicles should be given instead of emissions charging zones
  5. CAZs are another administrative and financial burden on struggling businesses
  6. Air quality schemes should be delayed to allow businesses sufficient time to adapt
  7. CAZs will hamper supply chains for construction sites by increasing costs
  8. Other options like traffic management should be exhausted before resorting to CAZs
  9. Smaller businesses based in or near CAZs should be given discounts or temporary exemptions
  10. Local authorities should not have control over charging levels because they may be tempted to use it as a means of simply raising revenue

Areas Active

Birmingham: the BMF worked with โ€œbodies such as the Freight Transport Associationโ€ to prepare its response to a consultation on the cityโ€™s proposed CAZ. Following the announcement of the CAZ in 2018, the BMF told BusinessLive that the scheme risked causing a slowdown in the cityโ€™s construction boom because the cost of HGVs bringing in supplies would become more expensive, urging the council to โ€œreconsiderโ€ the plans.

Leeds: the BMF worked with โ€œbodies such as the Freight Transport Associationโ€ to prepare its response to a consultation on the cityโ€™s proposed CAZ. It said that Leeds had apparently โ€œlistened to the concerns that the BMF expressedโ€ by changing the boundary of the zone, excluding vans from the charge, and proposing a charge of ยฃ50 for non-compliant lorries, half that of London.

London: according to a summary of responses to a 2018 consultation on the expansion of the cityโ€™s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and a strengthening of emissions standards to Euro 6 for the existing Low Emission Zone (LEZ), the BMF opposed a number of aspects of the scheme.

Along with the Road Haulage Association (RHA), it opposed the level of charges for the LEZ. Along with the RHA, the Freight Transport Association and the RAC, it also supported later implementation for the strengthening of emissions standards for the zone.

While it supported the level of charges for the ULEZ, along with the majority of respondents, it said the expansion should be implemented later than proposed.

Key Actions

November 2017

The BMF gave written evidence to a parliamentary inquiry on improving air quality. It said it supported the โ€œoverall ambitionโ€ to reduce air pollution but argued this should not be done โ€œat the expense of local businessesโ€.

It said that โ€œby the very natureโ€ of their supply chain, its members had โ€œno choice but to use diesel HGVsโ€ and that further controls on diesel vehicles would therefore โ€œhamper our supply chainโ€.

It urged central and local government to โ€œtake great care in deciding how and when to introduce Clean Air Zonesโ€ and said it was โ€œimperativeโ€ that local authorities โ€œexhaust all possible options before resorting to charging Clean Air Zonesโ€, which it described as โ€œanother unwanted administrative and financial burdenโ€.

It said that โ€œexcessive engine idlingโ€ was โ€œnot something BMF members will doโ€, unlike buses, coaches and taxis, and called for better traffic management to reduce pollution.

It also accused the government of favouring private cars over commercial vehicles, saying that โ€œfailure to act on private diesel cars is open to questionโ€.

It said its members were concerned that there would be insufficient time to adapt if CAZs were introduced in 2019 and that smaller firms โ€œface disproportionate administrative, financial & regulatory burdensโ€.

It called for discounts and temporary exemptions for businesses based in or near CAZs and for a diesel scrappage scheme.

It also said it had recently given โ€œrepresentationsโ€ to the Chancellor on โ€œvehicle taxation, fuel prices, and the demonisation of dieselโ€.

Associated Politicians

Conservative

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