More Comment – Page 480
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Comment
Little respite from the worse recession on record
Despite all the talk of “green shoots” over the last few months, it was apparent that this recession was going to be harsh from the offset and our forecasts for the industry over past year have suggested this. This week sees the release of our latest forecasts and it makes ...
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Building Britain's Future promises 45,000 new jobs building homes - That can't be right
Has anyone else prodded the sums on the 45,000 new jobs promised in the Building Britain's Future document as a result of the £1.5 billion pledged to stimulate building of 20,000 social and 10,000 private homes?I would have had a poke at them earlier but I was sunning myself for ...
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Recession may cost 800,000 construction jobs - that's one in three
The latest forecast from the Construction Products Association puts the annual peak to trough fall in construction at a shade above 20%.That probably translates to a 22% to 23% fall peak to trough on a quarterly basis, which compares with the 15% seen in the 1990s recession.This is a sharp ...
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What can you get for £1.5bn?
Hard to say how many votes it will win him, but Gordon Brown’s £1.5bn contribution to the Homes and Communities Agency deserves a few cheers from the construction industry. The money is intended to deliver 20,000 affordable homes and build the infrastructure to stimulate another 10,000 private ones. The government ...
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CommentShot by both sides: Collateral warranties for project managers
Project managers are liable to the client for all kinds of weird things, but now some contractors are asking them to sign collateral warranties
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CommentGood intentions vs reality: Collaborative working
The importance of collaborative working has been well understood and agreed for at least the past 45 years. The problems arise only when you actually try to do it
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Raising the standard: International procurement standards
In a recession, a standard for procurement for construction contracts could be just what the industry needs. So what do the draft rules say, and what would they achieve?
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How do I... issue a statutory demand?
Kicking off Berwin Leighton Paisner’s series on making the most of the legal process, Melissa Moriarty explains the use of a powerful money-extraction tool
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CommentRead all about it
Tories’ Olympic cash axe plot exposed … Fury erupts over Mandelson letter snub … Minister missing presumed frightened … Quango nepotism probe shock … and boss has breakfast with Jordan
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CommentWho’s the fairest of them all?
Housing ministers have come and gone faster than a weaver’s shuttle – some doing better than others. Michael Gove gives us the best and the worst and reveals the secret of a successful tenure
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CommentSummertime and the living is bloody tough
But when did doom and gloom ever get us out of a mess? We have to do whatever is necessary to survive the recession, and that means keeping morale up
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Bless this our heat pump
The Bishop of Leicester during his Lent pilgrimage blessed the new environment-friendly heating system in All Saints church in Somerby, Leicestershire
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What does it matter?
I read with interest the article written by Tony Bingham in your 26 June edition concerning the decree by the Office of Government Commerce that only one form of contract should be used for all public work, namely NEC3. In the recent past, I have delivered a number of training ...
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Comment
Too many contracts spoil the job
Tony Bingham is clearly unhappy with the use of the NEC for all government contracts
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CommentWhat can you get for £1.5bn?
Hard to say how many votes it will win him, but Gordon Brown’s £1.5bn contribution to the Homes and Communities Agency deserves a few cheers from the construction industry.
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CommentWonders & blunders
George Clarke considers Newcastle’s Swan House an unforgivably ugly duckling. However, the new courtyard in the British Museum is the epitome of elegance …
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Comment
How to get rid of a chief exec. Part I.
It would take three or four months to find a new chief exec for a company like Wolseley.So it's arguably no coincidence that it was three or four months ago Wolseley went cap in hand to investors to fund a £1bn rights issue.“Here’s your money,” the big institutions could well ...