24 January 200f

PUBLIC WORKS ISSUES IN BRITAIN: ITS VALUE AND RELEVANCE TO PUBLIC WORKS ISSUES IN SOUTH AFRICA
Introduction
In Britain, the major player in the construction industry is the private sector The Government's partner with the sector is the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the Construction Sector Unit (CIU). Britain suffered a depression immediately after World War I, but in later decades recovered to such an extent that the economy of the country is currently one of the largest in the world and is classified as a developed country. Its profile may be summarised as follows:

• It has a population of 60.270.708 people (according to National Statistics, 2004).

• Life expectancy: Men-76 years and Women-81 years.

• The literacy rate is 99%.
• The unemployment rate is 5.1 %.
• It has a total labour force of 29.7 million.
• The Gross Domestic Product (purchasing power parity) is $1.664 trillion (World bank, 2003).

The number of people who were living in poverty in Britain in recent years is relatively high. The estimated numbers of people in poverty in 2001 Before Housing Costs (BHC) was 10.1 million and After Housing Costs (AHC) was 13.3 million.

However, according to the report, Poverty In Britain (PIB, 2003 report), there has been a fall in poverty of 1.9 million (BHC) and 3 million (AHC) between 1997 and 2003/4 (PIB Report, 3:2003)

The Ministry of Public Buildings and Works and other Government Departments

Public works in Britain is not covered by one department. There are a number of departments that deal with issues that are similar to those that the Department of Public Works in South Africa deals with. The main Ministry that is linked to public works matters, is the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works. Some of the Ministry's responsibilities' are:

• To be responsible for the development groups and co-ordinating and extending the activities of the various building research and development groups throughout the Government service

• To encourage and develop, generally, the use of new and rapid methods of construction and to standardise the use and production of building components to the greatest possible extent: and

• To act as a link with the construction industries and to secure widespread dissemination of the best modern practices.

The other departments that deal with public works matters and issues of creating work and the reduction of poverty are:

• The Department for International Development

The Department for International Development promotes international development and the reduction of poverty internationally.

• Department for Work and Pensions'

The Department of Work and Pensions replaced the Department of Social Security 1997 and deals with issues such as social assistance regarding job- seeking and social welfare benefits.

• Department of Trade and Industry

The Department of Trade and Industry deals with the construction industry.

• Department for Transports

The Department for Transport is responsible for road policy, maintenance, street-works, traffic management, monitoring traffic and congestion.

The Construction Industry in Britain

The United Kingdom (UK) construction industry provides a tenth of the UK's gross domestic product, and employs 1.4 million people.

Source: DTI-State of the industry report-winter 2003

The UK construction industry is one of the strongest in the world, with output ranked in the global top ten. According to the State of the Industry Report- (Winter, 2003), there has been an increase in private finance to public sector projects, as shown in Figure 1 above. Moreover, the construction industry was expected to grow with the government's spending programme (covering infrastructure, education, healthcare and housing projects) fuelling much of this growth.

As stated above, the industry liases with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Minister responsible for construction attends some of the Construction Council meetings. An Act of Parliament called the Construction Act, mainly governs the construction industry.

Job creation programmes

According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Britain, construction employment has increased rapidly since 1999, and stood at over 1.6m in July 2002 - 85,000 higher than the previous year. This increase is partly due to a net influx into the industry from other industries and other countries, as the construction unemployment rate increased to 5%, up from 4.1% in 2001. The government, however, does not have a public works programme aimed at creating jobs, but has construction programmes that it funds which are carried out by the private sector, and these create jobs.

Poverty Alleviation Programmes

The problem of poverty viewed from any perspective depends entirely on the total income of a household. The government does not have a set poverty alleviation programme, but has a number of social intervention plans in place. In terms of the PIB report (2003) "most of those on low incomes are dependent in whole or in part on incomes from the State". The income (security benefits) from the State through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) include;

• Jobseekers Allowance

An allowance that is given to people who are looking for work.

• Child Benefit

For support to children who are separated from their parents for reasons that could not be avoided.

• Income Support

Income support is provided to people, among others, those who are below the age of 60 with savings below eight thousands pounds and those not working or working on average less than 16 hours a week. It is also provided to children who are separated from their parents for reasons that could not be avoided.

• Basic Retirement Pension

This is usually provided to people who are above the age of 60 years for women and above 65 years for men.

The Department for Work and Pensions also provides assistance and services to those who are returning to work, starting their own businesses and those who are sick and unable to work. These are some of the social intervensions to curb poverty among the British people.

The equivalent of South Africa's Department of Public Works (DPW) in Britain is Public Buildings and Works (PBW). However, the PBW is limited in scope since it does not cover the construction industry in detail as the South African department does. In South Africa, there is a detailed Public Works Programme aimed at addressing the twin challenges of poverty and unemployment (job creation), while in Britain poverty issues are dealt with by another Department and job creation by different Departments. This is largely influenced by the fact that Britain is a developed country, quite different to South Africa which is a developing country.

The crisis of unemployment in Britain is not as severe as in South Africa. It is, therefore, not suprising that there is not a specific programme that deals with job creation because only about five percent of the population is unemployed whereas in South Africa about forty one (41%) percent of the economically active people are unemployed.

In Britain the issues of public works, more especially the projects relating to public roads, are dealt with by the Department for Transport and not the Department of Public Works, as is the case in South Africa. In Britain, the issue of construction is more frequently addressed by the private sector with public funding than is the case with projects in South Africa. Moreover, construction issues are dealt with by the DTI and not Public Works or Transport. Considering all the above differences between South Africa and Britain, it makes it difficult to compare South Africa (a developing country) and Britain (a developed country). It also makes it difficult to decide whether a particular programme or strategy that is working in Britain may possibly work or not, in South Africa.

In spite of the huge differences between South Africa and Britain, it would be of value to visit the country to learn how public works projects and programmes to create work and the alleviation of poverty are co-ordinated in different departments.

It will be of value to South Africa to understand how the social intervention programmes run by the Department of Works and Pensions hold the unemployment rate down while the government addresses the issues of poverty through social intervention programmes such as the income support, and jobseekers allowance. It will also help to understand why and how the Department of Transport deals with its responsibility of maintaining roads and how this equates with sustainable employment to lower and address the problem of unemployment in both the current situation and in the future.

References

1. Poverty in Britain: The Impact of Government Policy Since 1997,

Sutherland, H. Sefton, T. and Piachaud, D. 2003, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, London.

2. State of Poverty in Britain, Winter of 2003, Department of Trade and

Industry, London.

3. Statistics South Africa Census Report of 2001, StatsSA , Pretoria.