CICV Forum report on repair and maintenance and the COVID-19 green economic recovery

[edit] Introduction

In February 2021, the Construction Industry Coronavirus (CICV) Forum published 'The economic, social and environmental benefits of stimulating repairs and improvements to the Scottish built environment to aid a green recovery from Covid-19’.

Information for the report was compiled by the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde on behalf of the Forum and with funding from the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) though an i-Con Challenge Innovation Grant. The report was commissioned in August 2020 and had input from Historic Environment Scotland and other private and public organsations.

[edit] Overview

The purpose of the report is to provide guidance to public entities seeking to prioritise public funding in terms of construction projects. It looks at the economic aspects of investing in a green recovery and presents social factors (as well as the environmental considerations) where benefits can be achieved. Return on investment and its relationship to repair and maintenance is also examined.

The report highlights that the construction sector is an important contributor to the Scottish economy supporting almost £16bn in Scottish GVA and almost 300,000 full-time equivalent jobs through both direct, indirect and induced economic activity.

Mairi Spowage, Deputy Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute said “Our analysis finds that specialised construction activities, which includes retrofitting and home improvements and repairs, has larger economic multipliers than the rest of the construction sector and the Scottish average across all industries.”

[edit] Additional findings

The suggests that every £1m spent on specialised construction activities (including repairs and improvements) generated a £1.09m GVA return to the Scottish economy and supports 21 full-time equivalent jobs.

The study also found that if VAT were cut from 20% to 5% in the specialised construction sector, this could generate between £80m and £400m in Scottish GVA and support between 1,500 and 7,500 full-time equivalent jobs.

The report includes:

• An examination of the types of properties that need repair work and what these repairs typically involve.
• A summary of how construction has fared through the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The overall economic impact of the construction sector.
• Case studies..

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• CICV creates COVID toolkit.
• Coronavirus and the construction industry.
• Ensuring a green recovery beyond the pandemic.
• Historic Environment Scotland Policy Statement.
• Low carbon building standards strategy for Scotland.
• Maintenance, repair and operations procurement.
• Scottish Government urged to review infrastructure.

[edit] External resources

• Construction Industry Coronavirus (CICV) Forum, The economic, social and environmental benefits of stimulating repairs and improvements to the Scottish built environment to aid a green recovery from Covid-19.