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CIOB urges new Welsh Government to adopt long term strategy on construction sector challenges
Nicky Roger Associate editor
CIOB sets out hopes for Plaid Cymru following Senedd elections. Image: Denis Kelly | Dreamstime.com
The Chartered Institute of Building has called on the new Welsh Government to work closely with the construction sector following the 2026 Senedd election, which saw Plaid Cymru emerge as the largest party in the Welsh Parliament.
CIOB said Wales would continue to face challenges around skills shortages, housing delivery, retrofit and climate change without greater support for the construction sector and more ambitious policymaking.
The institute also warned that previous siloed approaches across government had proved ineffective and urged ministers to adopt a more strategic, long-term approach developed in partnership with industry.
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David Kirby, policy and public affairs lead for Wales at CIOB, said the new Senedd presented an opportunity to build on work undertaken during the previous parliamentary term.
He said CIOB hoped to work with ministers and policymakers across parties to help deliver manifesto commitments, including social housing delivery and measures to encourage more people into construction careers.
David Kirby, policy and public affairs lead for Wales at CIOB
Kirby noted that CIOB’s own Welsh manifesto, published in January 2026, had included recommendations later reflected in several party manifestos, including proposals for a housing retrofit plan covering all tenures and measures to tackle skills shortages in Wales.
However, he warned that the Welsh Government and Senedd would need to work closely with the sector to ensure policies were both “ambitious and achievable”.
Kirby said failure to engage with industry risked deepening existing problems and leaving both the sector and manifesto commitments in a weaker position by the end of the Senedd term in 2030.
He added that there was “cause for hope”, pointing to efforts during the Sixth Senedd to co-develop policy with industry rather than impose measures on the sector, and said CIOB looked forward to continuing its role as a partner to government and policymakers.
