The British Furniture Confederation (BFC), the public affairs umbrella body of furniture and beds, furnishings and flooring sector trade associations, has unveiled its new Plan for Growth.
The document supports BFC’s advocacy across four key pillars: skills and education; trade and exports; standards and regulations; and the environment and circular economy. It has been developed over the past few months, evolving from a combination of position papers written by the associations’ executives and a comprehensive survey of their collective members.
“The BFC is committed to working closely with Government and devolved administrations to foster a thriving, resilient and forward-looking furniture and beds, furnishings and flooring industry,” says BFC chairman Jonathan Hindle. “Our Plan for Growth examines the key challenges our sector in particular is facing and sets out a series of recommendations for Government to support us in delivering growth.”
The document will be circulated widely to government departments, ministers and MPs within parliament, and will form the basis of the BFC’s ongoing engagement with Government, both directly and with the support of the industry’s All Party Parliamentary Group, chaired by Adam Thompson, MP for Erewash.
Adam says: “I’m very pleased that the British Furniture Confederation have launched their Plan for Growth, to explain how the furniture manufacturing industry can feed into the wider growth and skills agenda in Britain. This Government is powerfully committed to transform opportunities and drive growth and I am very proud, as the MP for Erewash, home of UK upholstery, that the furniture manufacturing industry is similarly committed.”
A key message to Government is to convey the size and significance of the sector to the UK economy. According to official figures, collectively (and including retail) it contributes over £41b, supporting more than 260,000 jobs across over 33,000 businesses. UK-based manufacturing accounts for £9.8b of this, emanating from around 9000 companies employing over 91,000.
However, it is also a sector dominated by micro- and small- to medium-sized enterprises – less than 500 companies turn over more than £5m and, despite there being some clusters of manufacturing activity, it is widely spread throughout the country.
“The importance of our sector and in particular our manufacturing capabilities here in the UK should not be underestimated,” says Jonathan. “From heritage handcraftsmanship to the latest AI-driven robotic technology, our sector is truly world beating, universally admired and keen to invest. Targeted support in terms of finance but also guidance and early, regular and meaningful consultation are at the heart of our plan.”
Skills and education
With the majority of companies – manufacturers in particular – facing significant skills shortages and an aging workforce, it is not surprising that the sector is looking to engage with the Government’s new Skills England taskforce and see better support to help it plug the gap, says the BRC: "In schools, access to more design and technology lessons, and careers advice which is more informed about and positive towards careers in manufacturing, would make a real difference."
Trade and exports
While a significant number of companies already export and others are keen to do so, many find the prospect daunting, and meaningful financial support is significantly below that offered by other countries, says the BRC. As well as reversing the reducing amount of support of recent years, the BFC is calling for a single source of guidance on accessing international markets, grants, tax relief and other financial support.
Standards and regulations
The Plan for Growth underlines the sector’s commitment to maintaining high standards, particularly in product safety, and the BRC says it is looking forward to working closely with Government on the ongoing review of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) regulations review. "There are also concerns about the divergence from Europe of product safety regime and how this will be managed," it adds, "and on the effective enforcement of safety regulations." The BFC is calling for recognition as an expert industry body to be consulted early and frequently on any regulatory and safety issues of relevance.
The environment and circular economy
The sector is strongly committed to adopting sustainability practice, but wants the Government to be sensitive to the significant costs and barriers involved, and in particular to ensure a level playing field with imported products, says the BRC: "There are concerns about divergence as Europe adopts regulations such as the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulations (ESPR). The industry is broadly in favour of going down the route of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) initiatives but urges Government to let these be industry driven and designed. Early and ongoing engagement with the Government’s new Circular Economy Taskforce (largely comprised of academics) is an immediate and ongoing request."
Pictured: Members of the BFC executive and its Public Affairs Advisory Committee (PAAC) with Adam Thompson MP,on screen, discussing the launch of the BFC's Plan for Growth and the soon-to-be-established new All Party Parliamentary Furniture Industry Group. From left: Tristine Hargreaves, NBF; Tom Prestwich, Belfield Group; Levent Caglar, FIRA; James Thompson, Michael Tyler; Jessica Alexander, BFC; Cathie Clarke, CRUK; Paul Barratt, Cormar Carpets; Jonathan Hindle, KI Europe and BFC; Brian Ahern, FIRA and The Furniture Makers' Company; and Phil Spademan, BFA.
