Welsh Manifesto 2021

Introduction

The next Welsh election will be held on 6 May 2021, to elect sixty members to the Senedd Cymru – the Welsh Parliament. It will be the sixth election since the Senedd was established in 1999 and the first election in which sixteen- and seventeen-year olds and legally resident foreign nationals will be allowed to vote in Wales.

The elections coincide with the UK local elections and Scottish Parliament election, taking place against the backdrop of one of the most significant public health and economic crisis in the modern day triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Election Timeline

The timeline of events for the Welsh Election 2021 are as follows:

Pre-election period: Thursday 25 March

Publication of statement of persons nominated: 4pm, Friday 9 April

Dissolution of Senedd: Thursday 29 April

Election: Thursday 6 May

Further information on activity and timing ahead of the Senedd elections is available on the gov.wales website.

What is CIOB doing?

In advance of the election, CIOB has produced a manifesto addressing what we believe should be the key priorities for the future Welsh Government, if it is to position the construction industry and wider-built environment as central to Wales’ recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Our manifesto aligns with the Welsh Government’s Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, to ensure that our recommendations help improve Wales’ social, cultural, environmental and economic well-being, whilst also improving recognition of the important contribution enhancing the importance and improving recognition of the built environment in Wales.

In order to do this, we have focused on three core themes:  

• Build Quality and Safety 
• Education and skills
• Net zero

We are calling on the future Welsh Government to:  

• Increase its investment in construction, to create safe, high-quality buildings that are fit for the future generations that will use them.  
• Implement the findings of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety to continue to lead on improving existing standards of building safety and quality.  
• Support the development of degree-apprenticeships in key areas of skills shortage for the industry.   
• Commit to training construction technicians and professionals in the skills they will need to decarbonise our existing building stock. These priorities are explored in more detail in our 2021 Wales Election Manifesto. 

How can you be involved?

Construction is one of the supporting pillars of the Welsh economy, contributing around 6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employing over 100,000 people prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Beyond the statistics, construction’s contribution reaches far beyond this. The industry helps to create and maintain the places that people live, work and play in, providing the infrastructure that supports them and the services that sustain them.

We want to ensure that the socio-economic value of the construction industry and the wider built environment is recognised by Members of the Senedd (MS) and secure the position of the industry at the front and centre of efforts to help Wales build back from the pandemic.

For construction professionals and CIOB members

• Contact your local candidate about our vision for the built environment in Wales: Prospective Members of the Senedd (MS) are more likely to respond and engage to a personalised correspondence, written by local people, passionate about the construction sector and their local economy.

We have drafted a template letter to help you share the CIOB's manifesto and raise awareness of the key issues affecting the built environment in Wales, which you can edit and expand to include your own points. To make this easier, we have developed the candidate tool to find out who your local candidate is. From here, use the drop down menus to select your region and your constituency to find the names and email addresses of your candidates. Download the template letter and copy and paste it into your email. When you send it, please make sure to copy in the CIOB Policy & Public Affairs team at policy@ciob.org.uk so we can keep track of any replies.

Find your local candidate

• Ask candidates to show their support for the built environment on social media by sharing our social media pack: We have prepared some social media assets which can be used to easily highlight the key themes of our manifesto. We have also drafted a tweet, LinkedIn and Facebook post to send to your local candidates, raising awareness of the key themes set out in the manifesto and the opportunities for the built environment in Wales.

For prospective Senedd candidates

• Arrange a meeting with the CIOB to discuss our manifesto: Should you wish to speak about any of our manifesto recommendations, or if you would like to receive regular briefings from the CIOB, please contact policy@ciob.org.uk.