The Government announces 13 initial measures resulting from the Construction and Public Works Conference to support and simplify economic transactions in the sector.
Faced with the rising cost of materials, supply difficulties for companies and the desire to support the sector in its ecological transition, Bruno Le Maire announced the launch of the Assises du bâtiment et des travaux publics (BTP) program last July. consultation and preparation of concrete measures implemented by the sector and which can be quickly implemented.
The first objective of this meeting is to respond as soon as possible to the needs of the construction sector in order to overcome the difficulties related to inflation. The second objective of this Conference is to meet the structural expectations of the sector in terms of simplification and ecological transition, as well as training and digital technology. Finally, the third goal is to start changing the dialogue method between the state and the sector. The actors of the sector have drawn up their recommendations and then they have been studied by the State in the framework of working groups that unite all interested parties.
More than 200 sector representatives were heard during these exchanges, which were organized in 6 working sessions. More than fifteen federations representing materials production and distribution, construction and project management participated. More than a hundred measures related to economic balance, simplification and ecological transition of operations were discussed. Local authorities have also been linked with the approval of the first 13 measures presented today.
The government has therefore introduced the measures, which can come into force without delay this Thursday, September 22. These measures are the result of requests from the sector, protecting the public financial balance by complying with the dates of entry into force of the texts on the ecological transition (low emission zones, especially extended producer responsibility). Other measures continue to be evaluated and may be subject to further announcements by the end of 2022.
13 events:
Actions to improve business cash flow
1. Increasing the advance limit in all government contracts to increase the cash flow of government suppliers and construction participants in particular. These thresholds will soon increase from 20% to 30% for all government contracts awarded to SMEs.
2. Amazingly improving the payment of these advances by rewriting the texts to change the current situation.
3. Guidance on good practice in terms of late penalties paid by construction industry players to avoid being unfairly blamed for existing shortages.
Measures to improve price forecasting in public and private markets
4. The government seized the Council of State, which stated that it is possible to revise the prices in the ongoing public markets to take into account the additional costs caused by exceptional circumstances. In the next few days, the steps to be taken in this area will be indicated in a circular, and the practical sheet has already been posted on the website of the ministry.
5. Business Intermediary will be tasked with the mission to improve commodity price predictability.
Measures to simplify public procurement
6. Continuation of the threshold beyond €100,000, which exempts public works contracts from calls for tender and is exceptionally raised during a health crisis.
7. Reducing the period specified in the general administrative clauses of state contracts between the notification of the contract and the service order for the actual start of the work from 6 months to 4 months, in order to prevent the increase in costs during this period. this period.
8. Targeting and better coordination of controls at construction sites to combat illegal activities.
Measures to simplify and improve compliance with burdensome regulatory and environmental obligations for companies
9. Mandatory and rapid publication of the amount of eco-contributions paid for companies under the “Extended Producer Responsibility” (REP) sector.
10. Establishing a 4-month grace period for small businesses to comply with Extended Producer Responsibility (educational information rather than sanction).
11. Extension of the field experiment of the “Responsible Guarantor of the Environment” (RGE) label after December 31, 2022.
Measures to accelerate ecological transition in this sector
12. Strengthening the common high-performance repair offer through a special France 2030 call for tenders
13. Initiation of consultations on carbon-carbon creation of materials
The ministers promised to continue this dialogue in the coming months. This will allow to continue the work and solve issues related to training and digital development for specialists. Ministers strongly encourage local authorities to take advantage of this consultation tool and to take action in line with the measures taken by the State in this first step.
