MPA pushing for positive Brexit outcome

Mineral Products Association presses Business Secretary for more collaborative approach to Brexit

FOLLOWING the General Election on 8 June, Nigel Jackson, chief executive of the Mineral Products Association (MPA), has written to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), expressing the industry’s continuing support in helping the new Government deliver a positive Brexit outcome.

In the letter to Greg Clark MP, Mr Jackson has pushed for the industry’s views both on the built environment and Brexit to be more fully taken into account, and with a more collaborative approach. By building a strong consensus that draws on industry expertise, experience and goodwill, the MPA believes the UK can secure the ‘best possible deal’ post Brexit that works for the whole UK.

It says the industry remains willing to help both BEIS and the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU), yet to date, whilst there has been reasonable engagement between Departments, officials and industry, industry’s views and experiences do not seem to have made much headway at the top of government.

‘Now more than ever, government, industry and business need to work together in a pragmatic fashion to ensure that we get the right deal post Brexit, which ensures that confidence is boosted to drive investment, growth and improve productivity,’ said Mr Jackson (pictured).

‘Continuing flexible access to the labour and skills we need is vital if our competitiveness is to be maintained. There is much at stake in enabling the mineral products industry to supply the construction industry with the mineral products upon which it relies, particularly housing and key infrastructure projects like HS2 and Hinkley Point.’