Opinion – Page 351
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Comment
Whistling in the dark
Further to your recent “whistleblower” item (13 November, page 15), it seems the proposed action by Balfour Beatty ex-employees is driven by an assumption of continuing unemployment with a commensurate loss of prospective earnings
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Comment
Arbitrary distinctions
I read John Redmond’s piece about arbitration with a wry smile (27 November, page 51)
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CommentInformation overload: The bumf tax
Tenderers are forced to wade through a shedload of information for the odd relevant detail, costing them a fortune. A few trips to the county court might put an end to the practice
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CommentDon’t get your suspenders in a twist
The Construction Act says it is lawful to down tools if you haven’t been paid what you’re owed. But what happens if you get it wrong and the money isn’t owed?
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Comment
Blowing their cover
At last, the details of the infringements that sparked the OFT inquiry into bid rigging are exposed for all to see. Those of a nervous disposition should look away now
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Comment
Cometh the hour: Nick Raynsford welcomes Paul Morrell
If anyone can pull off the new role of chief construction adviser, it’s Paul Morrell, says Nick Raynsford. But we need to give him time before we can reasonably expect to see results
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Comment
Timber frame inspections: Everything you need for a fire
Timber-frame sites are sustainable, technologically sophisticated and accidents waiting impatiently to happen, says Paul Hymers. And he should know – he has to inspect them
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CommentTimber frames: Warning bells are ringing
The blaze that swept through a Peckham street two weeks ago has left the timber-frame industry in little doubt that, next time, lives may soon be lost. But can the sector do more to ensure there is no next time?
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Comment
Pre-Budget Report points to more money for construction...but a much bigger fall
Few would argue against the view that this set of Pre-Budget Report announcements has more to do with pre-electioneering that pre-budgeting.That’s fair enough. The Labour Party may not be in power to pursue its plans and, if it is after the next election, we don’t know how keen it will ...
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Comment
Chancellor starts race to General Election
In today’s Pre Budget Report, Alistair Darling has set out a continued commitment to existing investment in education, health and other major public sector programmes for the foreseeable future. As expected, he is protecting major high-profile programmes, but this will inevitably need to be paid for by deeper cuts elsewhere.There ...
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Comment
The cruelty of breeding force-fed first-time buyers
Here's a question that goes right to the heart of current housing policy: Should we be using incentives as readily as we are to encourage first-time buyers onto the property ladder?However iconoclastic or contrary this question may seem, it needs to be asked. There is so much at stake.Promoting first-time ...
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Comment
What Tesco sales data can tell us about the construction jobs market
Practically all construction statistics are poor by comparison to the data in most other industries. It is not a fault of the statisticians or researchers. They have an unenviable job as the construction industry is, relatively speaking, very tricky to measure.So the best way to make sense of what is ...
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Comment
Number snacks: 1
The number of architects, planners and surveyors signing off the claimant count in the six months to October 2009 to head abroad was 985.This compares with 80 in same period two years earlier.Source: National Statistics (Nomis: www.nomisweb.co.uk). Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller Office ...
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CommentWhere there’s smoke
We won’t know for some time the details of the devastating fire in Peckham last week
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Comment
Are we witnessing an upswing in construction output? In a word: No
So its official – the construction recession isn’t as bad as we thought. And the even better news is that the sharp fall in output at the start of this year wasn’t anywhere near as sharp as last quarter’s figures had suggested.That at least is how the national statisticians might ...
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CommentVive la restoration: Sir Michael Latham on the importance of heritage stock
What better time than now, when the construction of new buildings is at a low ebb, to focus on the restoration and maintenance of heritage structures
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CommentWonders & blunders with James Finestone
James Finestone marvels at the scientific wonder that is the Salk Institute in California, but sees the Essex new town of Harlow as an experiment that went badly wrong