UK CONSTRUCTION SME ALLIANCE
DEMAND YOUR SEAT AT THE
GOVERNANCE TABLE.
The 99% will no longer be ignored. We are the backbone of the UK construction industry, and it's time our voices shaped the policies that govern us.
- Syncing secure ledger...
Open Letter: SME Representation in Construction Governance
This open letter represents the collective voice of SME construction businesses across the United Kingdom.
1. Who We Are
This letter is written by SME and Micro construction business owners, independent construction training providers, and training advisors across the United Kingdom. We are the businesses that build Britain's homes, maintain its infrastructure, train its tradespeople, employ trade apprentices, and pay the CITB levy year after year.
We represent 99% of UK construction firms, and we account for the majority of the industry's workforce. The government's own housebuilding targets cannot be delivered without us.
We are not anti-CITB. We are not opposed to the principle of an industry training levy. Many of us have supported the CITB model throughout our careers and continue to believe it has an essential role to play. But belief in a model does not require silence in the face of its failures. And there have been serious failures.
2. The Failures We Cannot Ignore
Over the past twelve months, CITB has made a series of decisions that have caused significant, demonstrable harm to all construction businesses, in particular SME and micro employers across the UK.
The following have had the largest impact:
⩥ August 2025: CITB announced the sudden closure of the Skills and Training Fund—a programme worth up to £10,000 potentially twice a year to smaller businesses—with minimal notice and no consultation with those most affected.
⩥ September 2025: CITB slashed essential short course funding. Safety courses, including SMSTS and SSSTS, were reduced to just 30% of market value. Level 7 qualifications were removed entirely.
⩥ December 2025: CITB Employer Networks funding was reduced from 70% to 50% for remaining eligible courses, and first aid was no longer supported.
⩥ February 2026: CITB Employer Networks ran out of funds for the remaining financial year and did not inform employers or training providers.
⩥ March 2026: CITB introduced new Employer Networks funding caps that leave micro firms with as little as £1,500 per year (incl. VAT).
This reduction was described by Jenny Creamer as having: "a huge detrimental impact on small and micro construction businesses, and seriously impacting business sustainability, growth and employment".
CITB defunded its network of regional Construction Training Groups with no consultation of any kind. These were local bodies, established 60 years ago, providing training advice, an outsourced training department for smaller employers, and funding support. They were removed with three months' notice, without replacement, and without any plan for how the support function they provided would be maintained. SMEs who once had a local point of contact now face an increasingly complex and inaccessible funding system with no one to turn to.
Throughout this period, SME owners and training providers were not consulted in any meaningful way. CITB's Chief Executive has since issued a public apology and acknowledged that the body's transparency "isn't hitting the mark". Apologies without structural change are not enough. The root cause of these failures is not a communications problem; it is a governance problem. "I am keen to see more SME voices within our governance at CITB and I will take every opportunity to champion SMEs who want to be more involved."
— Deborah Madden, CE CITB
3. The Governance Gap
The CITB Industry Funding Committee (IFC)—the body that controls how levy money is allocated—currently has five seats held by representatives of large contractors. There is no practising SME owner on this committee.
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC), which advises ministers directly on construction policy, has no dedicated SME voice at board level. The Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB)—established by the CLC to tackle skills shortages—has no SME board member.
This is not a coincidence. It is a structural failure that has been allowed to persist while the industry's smallest businesses bear the consequences of decisions made without them. CITB’s own published data shows that 99.6% of assessed employers are SME and micro businesses. The CLC itself states that over 90% of the industry is made up of SMEs. And yet the bodies that control its training funds and shape its policy are dominated by the 1% of firms.
4. Our Vision
We are not here simply to criticise. We have a clear, constructive, and deliverable vision for what CITB, the CLC, and CSMB should become. We believe CITB should be reformed, restructured, and repositioned as a genuine ambassador for the construction industry.
Specifically, we call for:
CITB Industry Funding Committee: At least 50% of seats to be held by practising SME construction business owners.
Construction Leadership Council: At least 50% of seats to be held by practising SME construction business owners.
Construction Skills Mission Board: At least 50% of seats to be held by practising SME construction business owners.
Transparent Selection: A transparent selection process for these seats, open to any qualifying SME owner, regardless of trade association membership.
Merger Requirements: That the ongoing CITB/ECITB merger consultation explicitly addresses SME representation as a structural requirement of any new or reformed body.
Industry Ambassadorship: That CITB be repositioned as an industry ambassador—a body actively championing the training, development, and commercial survival of the SME sector, and governed by people with lived experience
These are not unreasonable demands. They are proportionate responses to a demonstrable and long-standing governance failure. They require CITB, the CLC, and CSMB to reflect the industry they exist to serve.
5. Why This Matters Now
We ask for three things:
1. A formal written response to this letter, addressing each of the demands set out in
Section 4, within 28 days of receipt.
2. A commitment to include SME board representation as a specific question within the
CITB/ECITB merger consultation process, and to publish the results of responses on
this point.
3. A meeting between the Minister's office, CITB's Chair, and a delegation of SME
signatories to this letter, to discuss the path to structural reform.
We are a large and growing coalition. We are patient but not passive. We believe real change will only happen if the people who run this industry—the small builders, the sole traders, and the micro firms—are finally given a genuine seat at the table.
Yours faithfully, on behalf of the UK Construction SME Alliance,
Person
Robin Hayhurst BSc (Hons) MCIOB
Co-Founder, UK Construction SME Alliance (Construction Business Mentor)
Person
Jenny Creamer
Co-Founder, UK Construction SME Alliance (Gloucestershire Construction Training Group)
Person
Holly Kattenhorn MCIOB Assoc CIPD CertIOSH
Co-Founder, UK Construction SME Alliance (L.A Kattenhorn & Partners Limited)
Person
Vance Babbage FCIOB
Co-Founder, UK Construction SME Alliance (Director, B&M Babbage & Co. Ltd.)
Person
Keith Hopkinson
Co-Founder, UK Construction SME Alliance (Director, Knox & Wells Limited)
Signed also by:
Construction SME Owners/Directors / Supporters of Construction SMEs collated and verified via SIGN LETTER
The Disconnect
BUILDING THE NATION.
IGNORED BY GOVERNANCE.
SMEs deliver the vast majority of the UK's construction output. We build the homes, pave the roads, and lay the physical foundations of our economy. Yet, when decisions are made at the highest levels of policy, our voices are entirely shut out. This systemic silence is stalling industry progress and punishing the very businesses driving national growth.
NO VOICE IN POLICY
Critical legislation and industry policies are drafted by massive conglomerates, deliberately ignoring the daily operational realities of SME contractors on the ground.
UNFAIR PROCUREMENT
Public sector contracts remain locked behind restrictive bureaucratic walls, heavily favoring tier-one giants while actively squeezing out exceptional local talent.
DISPROPORTIONATE REGULATION
We face the exact same crushing compliance burdens as multi-national corporations, but without the dedicated legal teams required to navigate them.
OUR STANCE
THE SME CONSTRUCTION
ALLIANCE DEMANDS
The current system is broken. Decisions affecting the foundation of our industry are made behind closed doors by those who do not bear the risk. The Alliance is drawing a line. These are our non-negotiable terms for the future of UK construction.
01
PROPORTIONAL BOARD REPRESENTATION
We demand guaranteed seats for SME contractors on all major public sector construction procurement boards.
02
FAIR PAYMENT TIMELINES
Mandatory 14-day payment terms for all public sector sub-contractors, with severe and immediate penalties for main contractor delays.
03
STREAMLINED PRE-QUALIFICATION
A unified, simplified PQQ process that does not unfairly penalize smaller firms or demand irrelevant bureaucratic overhead.
04
TRANSPARENT TENDER FEEDBACK
Legally binding requirements for detailed, actionable feedback on all unsuccessful public sector bids submitted by SMEs.
TAKE ACTION
STAND WITH THE
ALLIANCE TODAY
The representation gap ends here. Add your name to the official Open Letter and demand your seat at the governance table.
No credit card required. Your signature strengthens our collective weight.
OUR COMMITMENT
We protect our own. Your information is used strictly to validate your status as an SME industry professional and to tally our collective weight.
- Strict Privacy Standards
- Zero Solicitations
- Verified Signatures Only
- Direct Policy Impact
Every signature strengthens our negotiating position. The governance table will not invite us—we must demand our seat.
THE UNDENIABLE WEIGHT OF THE
ALLIANCE
99%
OF ALL FIRMS
£15B+
ECONOMIC OUTPUT
2.1M
WORKERS EMPLOYED
0
BOARD SEATS
UK CONSTRUCTION SME ALLIANCE
By signing the open letter, you consent to your name and company appearing on the public ledger. Your contact details are securely held and will never be sold or shared with third parties.
NAVIGATION
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