29 March 2024, 06:24
By Furniture News Dec 01, 2016

BFC publishes 2017 manifesto

The British Furniture Confederation (BFC), the UK's furniture industry's representative body which seeks to ensure all Government policies and initiatives support a thriving furniture, furnishings and bed sector, has published its 2017 manifesto calling for strong action from Government.

The manifesto has been sent to ministers across the Government, as well as shadow ministers and key members of the All Party Parliamentary Furniture Industry Group, and features clear, implementable calls for action to bolster the industry.

"The BFC's mission is to sustain a strong and influential dialogue with Government, ensuring that its policies support a thriving UK furniture industry," says BFC chairman Jonathan Hindle. "Our manifesto examines the key issues that affect our industry and highlights the clear actions the Government should take to ensure it thrives in the years ahead."

The BFC manifesto has been developed in response to an industry-wide survey conducted shortly after the EU referendum. Completed by almost 150 companies, it identified a number of key challenges as well as opportunities for the industry.

The challenges identified in the survey include slowdown in business, material increase in costs, and recruiting well-trained staff.

However, there were also a number of opportunities the Government should be aware of which could make a real difference to furniture manufacturers, such as improved advice about specific export markets and their legal requirements, ensuring competitive trade agreements are in place, and more financial encouragement for export, such as tax breaks.

The manifesto outlines the BFC's specific action plan for 2017 across four key areas – skills and training, exporting, the flammability regulations, and sustainability.

On exports, the BFC is looking for a clear, five-year, sector-specific support strategy so businesses have sufficient confidence to plan ahead, together with more powers and funding for Trade Challenge Partners. It also wants the Government to recognise furniture manufacturing as an important part of the economy in its own right and not just as part of the creative industries.

Bearing in mind the importance of trade with Europe, the BFC will urge the Government to provide as much information about its plans as soon as possible and to prioritise tariff-free access to the Single Market in its Brexit negotiations in order to preserve confidence and ensure a stable business environment in which businesses can plan.

On flammability, the BFC will continue to raise the major concerns still remaining over the proposed amendments to the flammability regulations. The BFC supports the Government's desire to see a reduction in the use of fire-retardant chemicals, so long as it does not compromise safety. However it does feel that the current proposals could have the opposite effect, as well as being more difficult to police or to achieve consistent results in comparison to the current state of affairs.

While the BFC welcomes the Government's support for apprenticeship schemes, it is keen that the emphasis is on quality and not just quantity. It is keen to ensure there is a long-term strategy of support to make both employers and potential apprentices aware of the benefits.

At the same time there are concerns that the Government's focus on core subjects, as expressed in EBacc and Progress 8 performance measurements in schools, are in danger of marginalising design and technology on which the industry's future depends. The BFC will continue to press for equal recognition for these more practical skills.

The BFC will also be warning the Government not to follow immigration policies which widen the skills gap or which disproportionately harm SMEs.

The BFC's fourth platform for action is on sustainability, embracing product End of Life (including recycling) and resource efficiency as the country moves towards a circular economy. The confederation recognises the need to transform the British economy into one with sustainability at its heart.

Jonathan adds: "We must keep on reminding the Government of the importance of British furniture manufacturing to the economy - an industry of around 8000 businesses employing upwards of 106,000 people across the UK and producing more than £10b worth of product."

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