Construction minister and RICS fellow Mark Prisk says government cut-backs will lead to reduced fees

The construction minister Mark Prisk has told the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors that they will receive “smaller fees” from government as part of Whitehall’s cost-cutting drive.

In a speech last night to the Institution - of which Prisk is a member - he said that government procurement would squeeze suppliers.
He said, “There will be slightly smaller fees for my learned friends, and that’s no bad thing.”

Prisk argued that the cuts to capital spending had not been as savage as predicted.

He said, “There will be key investment in infrastructure - not as much as many would like to see but not as little as many feared.”

Robert Peto, President of the RICS, welcomed the government’s relative protection of transport spending but attacked VAT charges on refurbishing unused homes.

He said, “On the housing side, it [the spending review] was not good news. We are not building for the future. If we’re not spending money on new houses then you have to bring unused houses into use - and you won’t do that if you have to pay 20% on refurbishing homes.”

Peto also promoted Prisk from a member to a fellow of the RICS.

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