Voicing cleaning concerns
April 01st 2010

The British Cleaning Council entered its twenty-eighth year in 2010, continuing in its role as an authoritative voice representing the cleaning industry. The council is currently composed of nineteen member bodies, covering every facet of the £10 billion pound industry which exists in Britain today.

2009 saw much activity from our members as they operated exceptionally well despite the challenging economic environment. Several continued their work helping to train prisoners as cleaners as they commence their reintegration into society. The availability of industry-specific training has increased, with numerous universities and colleges offering courses and skills-based qualifications in partnership with our members, helping to raise standards and increase the number of skilled and licensed practitioners across our industry. Meanwhile, several of our members continued to engage the industry through their safety awareness drives, codes of practice guidelines and training days, while the public was increasingly involved through the numerous environmental improvement initiatives which took place.

The commercial activities of the British Cleaning Council continued to enjoy success and in March 2009 we organised another Cleaning Show at Birmingham’s NEC. The fantastic reception the event received offered further proof of the shows position as one of the major highlights of the international cleaning industry calendar. We were once again closely involved with several industry events, sponsoring the Building Cleanability Awards where buildings are awarded for their effective cleaning design, the Golden Service Awards which sees service providers gain recognition for their excellent work, and the BTA run Loo of The Year Awards, which enjoyed a record number of entrants.

Our public profile also improved in 2009, a trend which we anticipate will maintain over the coming year. As well as gaining positive coverage of our work in a wide breadth of publications, our quarterly magazine ‘The Voice’ continues to have a large circulation and readership amongst cleaning professionals, business leaders and policymakers across the UK.

The year ahead

We have recently released our Manifesto, which brings together the collective aims, values and objectives of our members for the first time in our history. The core aims of the document are to register publicly what the council stands for, while aiming to influence the decisions and policies of government and commerce during election year.

2010 will also see the British Cleaning Council holding its inaugural Cleaning Conference in London in the autumn, with a range of guest-speakers from business and government scheduled to address the challenges arising from Britain’s economic recovery.

Meanwhile,we expect to begin to work closely with the government in the run-up to the 2012 Olympic Games, in order to ensure that we have the correct preparation, best resources and most appropriate planning in place as we strive to assist them achieve their goal of holding the cleanest, safest and most hygienic Olympics in history.

Steve Wright, chairman of the British Cleaning Council, offered this hypothesis of the key issues for the cleaning industry: “I think the two most important events affecting the cleaning industry in 2010 will be the expected end to the recession and the general election in the spring, with the two being closely intertwined.

Whoever gains power will be handed the huge responsibility of handling and maintaining Britain’s economic recovery, with their actions having a profound effect on us all in the short and long-term. So my advice to cleaning industry professionals would be to use your vote wisely, as from a business perspective, this is probably one of the most important political choices you will make for a very long time.

“Additionally it will fall on us all within the industry to work hard with our clients, suppliers and staff to find practical and financial solutions to the inevitable challenges of emerging from the recession to ensure our industry not only survives but prospers and flourishes”.

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