Procurement – Covid-19

Downturn in project starts points to ‘a bleak winter’

Construction starts in November were down seven percent on the same month last year according to latest figures from informational portal Glenigan. Non residential construction starts were down 16% on a year ago, but residential starts were unchanged.

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Peer alleges dual accounting on High Speed 2

Claims have been made in Parliament that Britain’s largest rail construction project High Speed 2 is operating two parallel sets of accounts in order to “delay news of future costs”. The allegation was made by Lord Berkeley -- a long time opponent of the project - in a House of Lords debate into a new Protection for Whistleblowing Bill on Friday.

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Accelerated delivery asked of infrastructure statements

Government has been urged to publish updated National Policy Statements across all major infrastructure sectors to help speed up project delivery. National Infrastructure Commissioner Sadie Morgan, who chairs the organisation’s Design Group, has written to the Housing and Planning Minister, Lucy Frazer and invited her to meet to discuss matters further.

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Rail sector urged to collaborate as five year spending outlined

Clear evidence of productivity improvements and year on year efficiencies have been asked of Network Rail by the Transport Secretary, as he outlined the funds available for investment in the railways over the next five year Control Period.

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Challenging outlook predicted for construction procurement

Project procurement continues to be a major challenge for the construction sector, with main contractors and supply chains unable or unwilling to fix prices beyond the immediate short term, according to a new report.

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Prosecution for demolition firm after worker crushed on site

An Essex based demolition firm has been fined and one of its directors ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work after a labourer was crushed by plant, leading to life changing injuries. Ace Demolition Services was fined £20,000 at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court and John Gilligan was given a 12 month community order.

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Greater oversight of project spending demanded

Government departments have been urged to make greater use of accounting officer assessments to better oversee how public money is being spent, including on major construction projects. The Public Accounts Committee says it is “disappointed that departments are not making as much use of these assessments as they should”.  

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Flooding fear from new housing needs addressing

Legislation and standards need strengthening to discourage new housing and business developments from connecting to existing drainage networks, according to a new report.  The call comes from the National Infrastructure Commission which says such action could prevent 95,000 properties from facing a high risk of surface water flooding in future.

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National Highways faces difficult decisions to prioritise projects

Reductions in funding for strategic road enhancements over a five year period failed to achieve any notable savings as the cost of delivering planned projects rose by a similar amount, new figures have revealed.

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Concerns raised by lawyer over proposed developer levy

Government has launched a 10 week consultation into the design and implementation of a Building Safety Levy, to be paid by developers and charged on new residential buildings in England requiring building control approval. But one legal professional warned that the new Levy would represent “a quick fix” to fund much needed remediation works on a wide range of buildings.

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