Government

National Infrastructure Commission boss Sir John Armitt has been appointed to the board of the company that owns Tilbury Douglas, Construction News can reveal. Armitt was appointed a non-executive director of TD Bidco one day after last week's announcement that he had been granted another term as chair of the…

More than 100 projects across the UK will share £2.1bn from the second round of the government’s levelling up fund, including major transport, tourism and city regeneration schemes. A total of 111 areas have been promised grants, which aim to drive economic growth, restore local pride and spread opportunity to…

Birmingham City Council is on the hunt for contractors to work on a major repairs, maintenance, retrofit and improvement programme for its housing stock. The council is seeking to pick two contractors for a £1.4bn responsive repair and maintenance services contract to last for five years from April 2024, with…

HS2 minister Huw Merriman has pleaded with firms to rein in costs on the high-speed rail project, while restating the government’s commitment to the programme. During a visit yesterday to the Colne Valley Viaduct, Merriman told Construction News that he was keen to give the HS2 supply chain “the certainty…

Legal papers objecting to the proposed new coal mine in Cumbria have been lodged at the High Court on behalf of environmental group Friends of the Earth. The charity’s lawyers submitted papers last week applying to challenge the government’s decision to give the new mine planning permission. Friends of the…

Regular changes in environmental policies and a skills shortage are holding the UK back from achieving its net-zero aims, a review has found. The Net Zero Review, an independent assessment carried out by former energy minister Chris Skidmore for the UK government, warned that continual changes of policy on limiting…

Contractors working on National Highways projects will now be automatically enrolled into its project bank accounts. The initiative aims to ensure monies are held in trust in case a lead contractor becomes insolvent during a project, protecting cash for smaller firms. It is also an alternative to retentions, whereby a…

The senior commercial director of the government’s new hospitals programme has left her role. Emma-Jane Houghton, who joined the Cabinet Office for the job in December 2020, has taken up a position at government-owned defence company AWE. Responsibilities in her hospital-programme role included briefing construction representatives on procurement plans for…

The government has reappointed Sir John Armitt as chair of the National Infrastructure Commission. The move means Armitt will continue to oversee the body, which advises the government on major infrastructure projects, for a further two years, taking his term to 2025. Armitt has served as chair since 2018. Before…

The government has unveiled a substantially less generous energy-support package for businesses from April. Announcing the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) for 2023/2024, exchequer secretary to the Treasury James Cartlidge said the new support will make up to £5.5bn available for a 12-month period from 31 March. This is…