‘The legal situation today is still the same as the legal situation yesterday,’ he said. ‘We are still in the European Union, and will be for at least the next two years, so the industry needs to focus on its immediate priorities: improving the commercial terms we work with, adapting to and embracing emerging technologies, and ensuring we have a skills base that is fit for the future.’
Steve Bratt also called on the Government to focus on increasing economic stability and managing the UK’s relationship with the rest of the world. He said: ‘The immediate priority for Government is to work towards increasing confidence and stability in the economy, and creating an environment to encourage investment in construction and the wider engineering services sector. Many project approvals and starts were deferred as a result of the lack of clarity around the UK’s future in Europe, and the Government and the National Infrastructure Commission need to make the necessary decisions and investments to ensure this delay does not extend any further and harm the sector and the businesses within it.’
He concluded: ‘The ECA will continue to play a leading role within the wider engineering services sector and the business community, and will work with Government to help create the best conditions for prosperity – and to ensure that our members and our industry are in the best position to survive and thrive.’
