Author Archives: Contributor

When the pandemic struck, there was a concern that our consideration for the environment would slip back into the shadows. What actually happened was that our reliance on the outdoor spaces we had previously passed by without a thought, be it on our way to the shops or to work,…

The COVID-19 pandemic has delivered a ‘stress test’ like no other to all businesses operating within the UK. As we learn to live with the ongoing threat of the virus and its variants, and prepare for the UK to unlock, how do we return in the safest way possible? When…

When we talk about the benefits of modern methods of construction (MMC), we often focus on the time/cost/quality triangle. Yet the more I work in MMC, the more I see it has a wider opportunity than improving delivery – it can be a key component in increasing diversity. With safer…

This week marks a year since I was appointed building safety minister, and offers me the chance to reflect on the past 12 months and the progress that has been made in tackling one of the biggest challenges in building safety in generations. I have been deeply moved by first-hand…

As the UK’s vaccine programme reaches more and more people, we can see the end of the pandemic, and start to consider what its long-term effect on our economy and built environment will be. One of the most direct changes it could have is on how we design and build…

Over the past year, the issue of professional indemnity insurance (PII) premiums has quietly been moving up the agenda for construction companies. Across our industry, PII premiums have soared while coverage exclusions have also increased. This is driven by a number of factors including an increase in historic claims in…

A new suite of FM contracts aim to offer a more consistent procurement strategy

The facilities management market is worth around £120bn per year in the UK. Despite its size, it has lacked a dedicated contract form, until now. At the end of January 2021, NEC launched a new suite of…

Over the last year, I have seen UK contractors changing their operations at a scale and pace I never expected. When the 2016 Farmer Review urged rapid construction modernisation or risk extinction, this is what it meant. But we have such an exciting opportunity as an industry to go beyond…

With the collapse of international travel throughout the pandemic, combined with the Brexit rhetoric of ‘taking back control’, it might seem counter-intuitive to suggest that recent events have left workers more vulnerable to exploitative practices – but this is exactly what happened in 2020. The COVID-19 crisis has hit the…

I feel a mix of amusement and surprise hearing TV and radio debates about decarbonisation of heat, major infrastructure projects, electric vehicles, battery storage, public sector funding. Just a few years ago, who would have thought that on prime-time radio, we’d have 15 minutes of discussion about the detail of…