Milburn Review should be a catalyst for youth recruitment in the construction sector
Industry needs to apply models for skills training at scale, argues Kevin O’Connor
For the UK to deliver its ambitious infrastructure pipeline, it needs a workforce plan to match
The 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy and UK Infrastructure Pipeline have been a huge step in the right direction and must be matched by a long-term system wide approach to sustainable skills development, argues Alex Vaughan
Energy security remains one of the UK’s key priorities
The UK government’s hopes of regeneration-led initiatives to revive the economy will be seriously hampered without proper energy security. Upgrading transmission and distribution networks is now essential, writes John Wilkinson
Lifting the cap on grant funding for regeneration can help meet the Government’s housing targets
Strategic partnership bids outside London are subject to a 10% cap on applications for regeneration. Mel Barrett calls for greater flexibility
The push and pull factors behind building new homes in the UK
Clients engaging firms early on in the development process will unlock much needed housing, says Paul Woodhams
Unpacking the label: Applying a social impact lens to regeneration
To understand whether development genuinely benefits people and place, the industry needs to apply a broader social impact lens from the earliest decisions through to long-term stewardship, says Jasmine Ceccarelli-Drewry at Avison Young UK
This month’s construction industry gossip: Life’s great mysteries
The latest chatter around the industry
Predictability, payments and power: will the King’s speech remove friction?
The government is promising speed and certainty but RLB’s Andrew Reynolds asks if new laws will actually remove the frictions that slow delivery, strain supply chains and push risk down the line
Reform UK’s surge and Trump’s Iran war: what it means for construction
Last week’s elections have reshaped local power across the UK, creating hung councils and planning uncertainty just as the Gulf conflict drives up costs – with big implications for development pipelines, prices and delivery, says Chloe McCulloch
To govern is to choose - and the right choice must be to build
The government might have limited fiscal firepower to deal with the Gulf crisis, but it can still execute existing plans. UK construction could increasingly rely on the administration’s ability to make up its mind, says Simon Rawlinson of Arcadis
Now Reform UK are serious contenders, should the built environment despair or rejoice?
A government led by Nigel Farage would probably move faster on planning than its predecessors, but he may well find reality is harder to control than rhetoric, writes Richard Steer
Regulate what architects do, not what we’re called
Fire safety, design coordination and specification decisions are being made across complex teams. A function-led approach to regulation would focus scrutiny where risk sits, regardless of a person’s professional title, writes Satish Jassal
Levelling the playing field: How sport can be a catalyst for urban regeneration
Sporting venues are not just for hosting major events but must also become a springboard for wider investment and a driver of economic, social and physical value, Steve Gillingham says
MMC is not broken. It’s late-stage MMC that is
Modern methods of construction continue to attract scrutiny across the industry, with debate often centred on whether the model has been over-promised or inconsistently delivered. Angela Mansell argues that MMC does not fail because it is ‘modern’. It fails when manufacturing is forced to operate within procurement models and behaviours ...
Planning commttee decisions are increasingly becoming politicised – the new national scheme of delegation should help combat this
The planning process should be quasi-judicial and about professional judgement rathter than political choices, writes Paul Smith
Payment reform proposals: government must try harder
Rudi Klein awards the government an average mark of just 4/10 on its recently published proposals for legislation on payment reform
On overnice distinctions in expert witness qualifications
Tony Bingham unpicks the lessons of a recent ruling on the niceties around the qualifications required of specific expert witnesses
Strategic land controls go public
Carolyn Milligan and Gabrielle Coppack explain the new registration regime for contractual land rights
AI-assisted adjudication nears
UK construction disputes may be particularly well suited to AI facilitation
Why adjudicators need freedom from disciplinary threat
Tony Bingham explains how fear of institutional sanctions can lead to justice being compromised, and tells a cautionary tale
The contract administration skills gap
Peter Hibberd on why action is needed to address the skills gap in construction contract administration among industry professionals
When can a contractor terminate for repeated late payments?
Steven Carey on a Supreme Court ruling clarifying contractors’ termination rights for late payment in JCT contracts
PFI: the perils of project expiry
Lack of contractual clarity on PFI performance obligations can prompt excessive retrospective scrutiny at the point of handover
Retentions: how will a ban work at the coalface?
We finally have a decision on the fate of retentions – they are going to be banned
