I am delighted to have been asked to be a board member of the new Construction Innovation Hub, which I believe will be transformative of the industry and will allow CECA to play an active role in the future of the sector. The £72 million Construction Innovation Hub (formerly the Transforming Construction Alliance) is funded
The Treasury and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority is reviewing the way infrastructure is financed. The focus of the review is primarily on economic infrastructure, including energy, transport, water, flood defences, mobile telecommunications and broadband, and waste. The Government is increasing public investment and targeting it in productivity enhancing sectors through the National Productivity Investment Fund.
The Institute of Economic Development (IED) is pioneering a major new piece of collaborative research to explore social value in construction. Construction is under the spotlight given the critical role it is intended to play in the Industrial Strategy, and the Construction Sector Deal, an ambitious partnership between the industry and the government that aims
This week Construction News published a report on the payment practices of the top 100 construction firms in the UK. This research found that contractors take an average of 43 days to pay their suppliers. The average proportion of invoices not paid to the terms originally set out is 28 per cent. The research reflects
This year CECA’s procurement work will have two streams. The first will focus on procurement between supply chains, the second, on the issue of inappropriate procurement (for example all-risk, lowest cost contracts). Both these pieces of work will have a strong SME focus. Procurement between supply chains CECA’s work in procurement to date has focused
The backlog of repairs required on local roads in England and Wales has risen to almost £10 billion, according to research published today. The Asphalt Industry Alliance’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey reports that for the second consecutive year, local authorities’ highway maintenance budgets have increased by almost 20 per cent. However much
The Competition and Markets Authority has announced that it is investigating suspected anti-competitive arrangements in the supply of construction services in Great Britain, which may infringe Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998. This case is at an early stage, and the CMA has yet to determine that the CA98 has been infringed; nonetheless, CECA
Highways England is to lead a £300,000 study looking at major improvements to road links between the M65 in East Lancashire and parts of Yorkshire. The study, which is due to start next month, will consider what enhancements could be made to road connections between the end of the M65 at Colne, and communities like
Archaeological mitigation can all too often be regarded as a preamble to construction activities, rather than a mainstream element of construction process. Yet since the 1980s, Commercial Archaeology and the Construction Industry have co-existed. The advent of Planning Policy Guidance (now National Planning Policy Framework 2018) mandated that suitable archaeological mitigation takes place whenever there
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) today announced a major boost in funding to help employers take on construction apprentices. From 1 April, CITB’s attendance grants to employers will increase to £2,500 per year, while achievement grants will rise to £3,500 for companies whose apprentice successfully completes their training. This is an overall funding increase
