PUBLIC AFFAIRS

BPCA has suggested four new policies that would help to support members and ensure the long-term sustainability of the sector.

These have been submitted to the National Policy Forum (NPF), an organisation that oversees policy development for the Labour Party.

BPCA has used Labour’s NPF to lobby for brand-new policies that would:

• Support implementation of Awaab’s Law – keep homes safe from pests
• Protect the sector's long-term sustainability by encouraging new entrants to the sector
• Give pest management a greater role and voice in managing invasive species.

Labour’s NPF is made up of 200 representatives, including party members and external experts and stakeholders.

They develop the party's policy platform, make recommendations, and decide what goes into the party’s general election manifesto.

The NPF runs an annual consultation and accepts policy submissions from anyone who’s interested. If successful, policies could find their way into Labour’s manifesto for the next general election.

The next general election is not expected until 2029.

Awaab’s Law in temporary accommodation

Implementing Awaab’s Law is a key mission of BPCA. In England, it will only offer legal protections against pests to tenants in social housing.

This protection is due to be extended to tenants who are privately renting under the Renters Rights Act.

Homeless families living in temporary accommodation are not protected, and the government has only committed to it being implemented by the end of 2028/29.

BPCA is calling for Labour to adopt the recommendations of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee in full.

In April, the Committee released a report which found that young children and other vulnerable people were regularly being placed by councils in temporary accommodation with active and significant infestations.

Among their recommendations, which we are calling for Labour to adopt:

• A phased rollout of Awaab’s Law to begin urgently
• That local authorities carry out mandatory inspections of temporary accommodation before use
• That local authorities are given the funding to be able to afford safe accommodation.

Funding to support low-income homeowners

Government currently supports a Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF), with local councils in England using the money to “provide a safety net for those on low incomes who encounter a financial shock and to invest in building local financial resilience.”

It is up to councils to spend the money how they choose, but we are asking that the guidance given to councils is updated to encourage them to support low-income homeowners in resolving pest infestations and other housing hazards.

While renters are being supported by regulation under Awaab’s Law to ensure a basic standard of housing, we don’t want to see low-income homeowners left to fall behind.

Ensuring the CRF can be used to support them will allow homeowners to afford private pest control treatments and avoid the risks of being forced to live with pests or of doing a DIY treatment.

Furthermore, such a change would help low-income households meet their legal obligations to keep their properties free of pests, prevent their neighbours from being affected, and deliver a wider public health benefit.

Greater involvement in tackling invasive species

BPCA is calling for the development of updated strategies for managing non-native invasive species that will better serve our sector.

Climate change is making conditions across the UK increasingly favourable for invasive species such as Mosquitos and Yellow-Legged (Asian) Hornets.

We need to ensure that our management strategies are flexible enough to respond to and eradicate any threats before they can establish themselves, thereby protecting native wildlife and the economy.

Insuring young workers

40% of the UK pest management workforce will retire within the next decade. If the sector is going to sustain itself and grow to meet the increased demand that climate change will bring, we need more young people to join.

One of the barriers to employing more young people is the cost of insuring them on work vans.

Pest management is the joint second most expensive trade to insure a van for in the UK, estimated at £800 annually for an average van driver in their 50s.

The cost for 17-24-year-olds can be four times as expensive, at around £3,000.

BPCA is calling on Labour to conduct a review of potential measures to reduce the cost of insuring younger drivers on work vehicles.

If you have experienced any difficulties in recruiting younger people, including insurance costs, we’d be keen to hear from you.

Please send your thoughts to [email protected]

BPCA engages with all political parties in the United Kingdom.

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