Government | Construction News

Costs to soar after funding axed for Kier road job

Ian Weinfass — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 12:15:07 +0000

Local government commissioners have warned that the government’s withdrawal of funding for a £600m PFI highways contract, won by Kier, is likely to damage a bankrupt council’s ability to turn its finances around. On 30 November, the Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed it was ending…

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Firms named for breaching minimum wage law

Ian Weinfass — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 07:00:42 +0000

Builders merchants, scaffolders and a subsidiary of a large main contractor are among firms named by the government for failing to pay the minimum wage. More than 500 companies have been named after investigations by HMRC found that between 2015 and 2023 they had breached…

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Plant-hire body makes fuel demands ahead of Spring Budget

Joshua Stein — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 09:31:57 +0000

The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has called for a two-year extension to the cut in fuel duty and a relaunched rebate for hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) ahead of the Spring Budget on Wednesday (6 March). The trade body said the government should introduce the measures…

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Net-zero-homes proposal ‘could lower standards’

Ian Weinfass — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 07:00:10 +0000

A coalition of built environment groups have said the government’s net-zero housing plans do not go far enough. Low Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI), a network of 1,000 professionals in the sector, says the Future Homes Standard could see housing built to lower environmental standards than…

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MPs call for materials hub as inflation hits rural areas harder

Joshua Stein — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 07:00:19 +0000

Infrastructure projects are being held back in rural areas due to inflated material prices, MPs have warned. In a House of Commons adjournment on infrastructure procurement on Monday (20 February), two MPs from the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) argued that creating…

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How are councils’ funding troubles impacting construction?

Contributor — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 11:51:15 +0000

Council-funded projects face an uncertain future as a once-steady source of work for contractors comes under financial strain. Keith Cooper reports Local authority-led projects to develop, remodel and maintain estates of town halls, leisure centres – and everything in between – feed a steady stream…

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Government moots easing restrictions on demolishing new-builds

Joshua Stein — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 10:39:36 +0000

The government has unveiled plans to extend permitted development rights for demolishing buildings and replacing them with housing. In 2020 the government introduced a rule that allowed the demolition of residential, office or industrial buildings built before 1989 without planning permission if they are replaced…

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Billions more pledged for affordable-housing loan scheme

Joshua Stein — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 16:19:31 +0000

The government has injected £3bn into affordable housing, which it says will finance 20,000 new homes. The extra funds were pledged towards the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme, which, for the first time, can now also be used to upgrade existing properties to make them safe…

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Fears for homebuilders as new biodiversity rules come in

Charlotte Banks — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 11:57:33 +0000

A major trade body has warned that new biodiversity net gain (BNG) legislation, which comes into force today (12 February), will deter homebuilding. Rico Wojtulewicz, head of policy and market insights at the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said some of the organisation’s members had…

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Labour cuts green spending plans in half

Ian Weinfass — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 11:11:15 +0000

Labour has almost halved its green investment plan for the next parliament. The opposition party, which has a large lead in opinion polls with a general election due to be held within the next 11 months, previously made a flagship commitment to a £28bn annual…

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