Friday 6th August
Construction Leadership Council Welcomes New Co-Chair
Sarah Jones MP, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero confirmed as co-chair of the Construction Leadership Council.
Read the CLC press release here.
Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government launches consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework
On Tuesday 30 July, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government launched a consultation seeking views on its proposed approach to revising the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). It is also seeking views on a series of wider policy proposals in relation to increasing planning fees, local plan intervention criteria, and appropriate thresholds for certain Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. The consultation will run until 24 September.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology commissions Action Plan on how AI can drive economic growth
On Friday 26 July, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology announced tech entrepreneur and Chair of the Advanced Research And Innovation Agency (ARIA) Matt Clifford will lead the creation of a new AI Opportunities Action Plan to identify ways to accelerate the use of AI to improve services and deliver better products. Alongside exploring how to build a UK AI sector that can scale and compete on the global stage, the plan will also set out how to boost uptake of the technology across all parts of the economy, and consider the necessary infrastructure, talent, and data access required to drive adoption by public and private sectors.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announces new mandatory housing targets
On Tuesday 30 July, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced new mandatory housing targets for local councils, in order to meet its national target to build 1.5 million new homes over the current Parliament. The announcement came alongside the launch of a consultation on planning reform, as outlined above, with the aim of freeing up capacity to meet these new targets. The targets will mean most councils will have to boost housebuilding, with higher targets in areas where there is the most need. In support of this announcement, two open letters from the Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, were published – one of these calling on Metro Mayors to play their part in meeting housing demand, and one addressed to local authorities asking the same.
New Towns
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published their vision for new towns and has also established a New Towns Taskforce. The new towns programme will include large scale new communities built on greenfield land and separated from other nearby settlements, but also a larger number of urban extensions and urban regeneration schemes.
Each of the new settlements will contain at least 10,000 homes, although a number are expected to be far larger.
The Taskforce will advise ministers on appropriate locations for significant housing growth. It will deliver a final shortlist of recommendations within 12 months but will have the freedom to share conclusions in respect of specific sites earlier if beneficial to the government’s housebuilding drive.
The Deputy Prime Minister has appointed Sir Michael Lyons as the Chair and Dame Kate Barker as Deputy Chair.
More information can be found here.
In the news
Labour faces tough task in winning community support for building boom (ft.com)
Axing of Stonehenge tunnel raises uncertainty for industry, warn analysts (ft.com)
‘A constant government failure’: reaction to chancellor’s project cuts – Construction Management
Friday 19th August
UK Health Security Agency and NHS England make joint call for evidence for a Fourth Health and Climate Adaptation Report
On Wednesday 14 August, the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England announced a call for evidence as part of their joint Fourth Health and Climate Adaptation Report. The report is commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and aims to guide future action to adapt to climate change in relation to public health. The Fourth Health and Climate Adaptation Report will also:
- provide any new information on or updates to risks and actions from previous reporting rounds
- assess progress towards completing previous actions, and detail how progress is being measured
- identify any new actions required to tackle climate risk in the health sector
- include any case studies which demonstrate climate impacts and/or good adaptation practices
The call for evidence closes at 11:59pm on 27 September 2024.
House of Lords Library publishes factsheet on modern methods of construction ahead of debate in September
On Friday 9 August, the House of Lords Library published an in-depth summary of the debate over modern methods of construction (MMC) for peers to read ahead of debate on the topic in the chamber on 5 September. The debate has been put forward by Lord Moylan, Chair of the Lords Built Environment Committee, after his committee undertook a short inquiry on the topic between October 2023 and January 2024. The Committee has previously called for the Government to acquire a better understanding of how the construction industry works and the help needed to adopt MMC, as well as develop a coherent, achievable strategy for the sector.
Demonstrating Organisational Capability with the Common Assessment Standard
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) is delighted to welcome the latest version of the Common Assessment Standard, the industry-agreed pre-qualification standard developed by Build UK and endorsed by the CLC. Version 4 has been streamlined following the withdrawal of PAS 91 and updated to include a new Building Safety section, ensuring it can be used to demonstrate that companies have the ‘organisational capability’ to fulfil their roles under the Building Safety Act. Demonstrating Organisational Capability with the Common Assessment Standard – Construction Leadership Council
Proof of Concept Pilot Project Published
The Construction Leadership Council has worked with Actuate UK and the Get It Right Initiative (GIRI) to develop and test a proposal for a quality metric as a viable alternative to the withholding of cash retentions as a form of insurance against defects. GIRI funded the research project by the Centre for Design Engineering (C4DE) at Cranfield University.
A report has been published on the pilot project to test the proof of concept for this innovative work. Read the report here.
Industry response to the Independent Review of the Construction Products Testing Regime
The Construction Leadership Council’s Standards and Regulatory Alignment Group have produced an initial response to the Independent Review of the Construction Product Testing Regime – Testing For A Safer Future led by Paul Morrell OBE and Anneliese Day KC. Industry response to the Independent Review of the Construction Products Testing Regime – Construction Leadership Council
IN THE NEWS
Cracks in Angela Rayner’s plan for a housing revolution – The Guardian
The Guardian published several letters around the improvements that are needed to housing and infrastructure in the UK. This includes David Woollcombe of East Hertfordshire district council, who argues the new draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has a “yawning policy gap” when it comes to building sufficient infrastructure alongside new housing. He uses his own council’s circumstance as an example, pointing out that there is insufficient water or sewage infrastructure to fulfil its housing targets.
Ministers urged to act on MMC Strategy – Construction News
Construction News reports the Lords Built Environment Committee is still awaiting a response to its inquiry into modern methods of construction (MMC), having asked for a government strategy by March 2024. There are also concerns raised about the Whitehall budget review currently underway to find departmental savings, with fears that funding support for MMC could be cut if a strategy is not in place. The article also highlights how the Committee’s report accused the Government of “undirected and nonstrategic” investments in MMC, with several failures in the sector.
Construction activity rises for second month | Construction Enquirer News
Friday 30th July
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government launches New Homes Accelerator
On Thursday 29 August, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced a group of experts will form a New Homes Accelerator to work across Government and local councils to accelerate housing schemes delayed by planning “red tape”. Planned interventions include providing resources to support local planning capacity where there are barriers and working across the board to make sure planning decisions are made in a timely fashion. Government analysis suggests 200 large sites have outlined or detailed plans ready to go but are yet to begin construction, and the Accelerator has already started work to identify which sites would benefit from early interventions.
Housing Minister writes to local leaders in Cambridge on the role of the area in boosting growth
On Tuesday 27 August, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published correspondence from Matthew Pennycook to local leaders in Cambridge in an attempt to “reset” the working relationship between central government and local partners, and to drive efforts to tackle long-term challenges to prosperity, including water scarcity, high property prices and excessive traffic. Pennycook told the local leaders he wants to help them “deliver ambitious and high-quality sustainable growth in the area” as part of Labour’s central mission to kickstart economic growth.
Industry response to the Independent Review of the Construction Products Testing Regime
The Construction Leadership Council’s Standards and Regulatory Alignment Group have produced an initial response to the Independent Review of the Construction Product Testing Regime – Testing For A Safer Future led by Paul Morrell OBE and Anneliese Day KC. The industry response to the Morrell/Day review analysed the recommendations contained and set out which are for industry, which are for Government and which are for all parties to take forward. The industry response can be found here.
Golden Thread Guidance
The Building Safety workstream of the Construction Leadership Council have today published guidance on the golden thread of information requirements for higher-risk buildings. This guidance will support dutyholders and accountable persons to deliver a golden thread for their building. This publication supports the huge amount of work happening across industry to deliver the higher-risk regime and to enable the delivery of robust information to support safer buildings.The full Golden Thread Guidance is available here. A Summary of the guidance is also available, and can be downloaded here.
IN THE NEWS
SBTi launches net-zero criteria for built environment – Edie reports
Ambitious proposals to reset rail and urban transport launched | Urban Transport Group
Number of new homes being built in UK drops sharply (ft.com)
Friday 5th September
New Homes Accelerator programme
The New Homes Accelerator aims to unblock and accelerate the delivery of housing developments that have for various reasons become delayed, or which are not progressing as quickly as they could be. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is launching a call for evidence. Developers, local authorities and landowners are invited to identify large-scale housing developments that are delayed or stuck so the government can better understand the scale of the challenge and evaluate what support it can provide to help overcome barriers to development and accelerate delivery.
More information can be found at: New Homes Accelerator programme
Extension to Recognition of CE Marking
On Monday (2nd September), the Minister for Building Safety and Homelessness has made a statement regarding construction products. This announced an extension of the recognition of CE marking for construction products in Great Britain. This extension, and the longer-term future of CE/UKCA marking, is conditional on a commitment from the Government to system wide reform of the construction products regulatory regime. Please see the announcement here.
Prime Minister gives statement on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry final report
On Wednesday (4 September), Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed the House of Commons to make a statement on the final report from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. In this statement, he called for wide-ranging change to improve standards and emphasised the human cost of the tragedy. Starmer apologised on behalf of the Government for its failures leading up to the fire and highlighted the fact that not enough has yet been done to ensure the safety of all high-rise blocks in the UK.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government publishes amendments to Approved Document B (fire safety)
On Monday (2 September), the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published a circular and a letter addressed to local authorities in England which outlines the amendments to Approved Document B. Changes include an extension of the provision of sprinklers to all new care homes irrespective of height. New care homes will also be expected to limit compartment sizes to 10 beds while ensuring self-closing devices are fitted to doors. Also included is the removal of the national classification system for reaction to fire and roofs from Approved Document B, with the European Standard – deemed more current and robust than the National Classes – now being the sole route of specification within Approved Document B for reaction to fire and roofs classifications.
IN THE NEWS
Minister announces reform of construction products regulatory regime– Builders’ Merchants News
Builders’ Merchants News reports Rushanara Ali MP, Minister for Building Safety, has announced a reform of the construction products regulatory regime, and an extension of the CE quality marking recognition. In a statement, Ali announced that the Government will extend the period of recognition of CE marking for construction products and that it will continue to be available when placing construction products on the market across the UK. This comes in response to the findings from the Independent Review of the Construction Products Testing Regime, which had made clear there is currently insufficient testing and certification capacity in the UK alone to provide sufficient volume of conformity assessment were CE recognition to end. Ali also confirmed that any subsequent changes to the recognition of CE marking would be subject to a minimum two-year transitional period to ensure certainty and a smooth transition.
More than 100 councils call for reform of local authority financing and Right to Buy – Inside Housing
Inside Housing reports a cross-party coalition of more than 100 councils has called on the Government to usher in solutions, including a multimillion-pound cash injection and reforms to Right to Buy, to funding issues across England’s council housing system. A new report, Secure the future of council housing, will be launched at an event in Westminster on Thursday, detailing five solutions to fix council home funding after years of an “unsustainable financial model and erratic national policy changes”. This comes after 20 of the largest council landlords published an interim summary of their recommendations, with over 80 more backing the report since then.
£32.8m funding for heat pump projects – Cooling Post
Cooling Post reports four heat pump projects are to receive £32.8m from the UK Government’s Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF). Three projects in London will receive £20.2m to connect 8,500 new homes and businesses to low carbon heat networks powered by air- and ground-source heat pumps, while Barnsley will receive £12.6m of funding for a multi-source heat pump network for a range of existing businesses and public sector buildings. The London projects encompass the Clapham Park and Brent Cross town developments and, in Hammersmith and Fulham, the West King Street project to decarbonise the grade-II listed town hall alongside new homes.
MPs, peers and businesses call for Ministers to extend tax relief beyond heat pumps – Edie
Edie reports a group of cross-party MPs and Peers has written to Treasury Secretary James Murray to advocate for the inclusion of heat batteries as Energy Saving Materials (ESMs) in the upcoming Autumn Statement. They have also thrown their weight behind industry calls for VAT relief for all ESMs to be extended until 2030. The letter was sent in tandem with an industry letter on the same subject, with signatories including Centrica New Business & Net Zero, Ovo, Eon and Thermal Storage UK. The current ESM status grants VAT relief to a limited range of low-carbon technologies, predominantly heat pumps. Advocates of expanding the ESM scheme claim it will be needed to achieve the Government’s target of a decarbonised power sector by 2030.
Urbanisation ‘Driving Concrete and Cement Growth – Construction Digital
Construction Digital reports new research by Technavio predicts a boom in the concrete and cement market due to urbanisation and infrastructure investments, as well as AI’s impacts on market dynamics. The report claims the global cement and concrete market will expand by $438billion USD by 2028, noting contributing factors such as new sustainable and innovative techniques that offer enhanced durability, sustainability and cost-efficiency. The contributing factor of urbanisation is most intense in the Asia-Pacific region where cities are expanding rapidly as a large proportion of the rural population move.
Friday 13th September
Select Committee Chairs elected
On Wednesday 11 September, the results of the Select Committee Chairpersonship elections were announced. Results include:
- Business and Trade (Labour): Liam Byrne MP
- Energy Security and Net Zero (Labour): Bill Esterson MP
- Housing, Communities and Local Government (Labour): Florence Eshalomi MP
- Science, Innovation and Technology (Labour): Chi Onwurah MP
- Environmental Audit (Labour): Mr Toby Perkins MP
- Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Liberal Democrat): Mr Alistair Carmichael MP
- Health and Social Care (Liberal Democrat): Layla Moran MP
- Treasury (Labour): Dame Meg Hillier MP
Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government announces rollout of various renter protections
On Wednesday 11 September, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government released details on steps it plans to take to increase protections for renters as the Renters’ Rights Bill was introduced to Parliament. Alongside this, guidance specifically explaining the launch of the process to ban Section 21 (“no fault”) evictions was published. This method of evictions left 26,000 households facing homelessness last year, having to receive support from councils. Section 98 of the Bill also amends The Housing Act 2004 to enforce the Decent Homes Standard into residential premises.
Other measures in the Bill include:
- Ban rental bidding wars
- Ban in-tenancy rent increases written in to contracts
- Create a new Private Rented Sector Database to help landlords and tenants
- Abolish rental discrimination on tenants with children or those in receipt of benefits
- Apply Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector
- Give tenants the right to request a pet
- Apply a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time
- Support quicker, cheaper resolution when there are disputes.
Lords Built Environment Committee launches Grey Belt Inquiry
On Friday 6 September, the Lords Environment Committee announced it will conduct an inquiry into the planned use of so-called “Grey Belt” land. This is land which is part of the protected Green Belt but which does not possess the properties for which the Green Belt is protected. The committee will consider the Government’s proposed “golden rules” of the sequential test for land release, as well as the requirements for the delivery of affordable housing provision, infrastructure and enhanced green spaces, and how they may affect the success of developments in the Grey Belt. The Committee is currently open to receive written submissions on this topic.
IN THE NEWS
New rail line needed between Midlands and northern England, study says (ft.com)
Monthly construction output is estimated to have decreased 0.4% in volume terms in July 2024
The Office for National Statistics published estimates of construction output for July 2024 this morning.
- Monthly construction output is estimated to have decreased 0.4% in volume terms in July 2024; this follows an increase of 0.5% in June 2024.
- The decrease in monthly output came from falls in both new work (0.2%) and repair and maintenance (0.7%).
- At the sector level, monthly output fell in five out of the nine sectors in July 2024, with the main contributors to the monthly decrease coming from private commercial new work and private housing repair and maintenance, which fell by 2.4% and 1.7%, respectively.
- Construction output is estimated to have grown by 1.2% in the three months to July 2024; this came from increases in both new work (1.6%), and repair and maintenance (0.8%); the increase in construction output in the three months to July 2024 came from increases in May 2024 (1.7%) and June 2024 (0.5%).
Read the full DBT report here.
Download the ONS Construction update here.
What is Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill – and will it end no-fault evictions? – Sky News
Sky News reports Labour will be bringing forward its planned “Renters’ Reform Bill” which will include a ban on no-fault evictions. It also mentions how housing campaigners have said no-fault evictions are a major contributing factor to rising homelessness. Also mentioned is how for the last five years successive Governments have tried to pass similar legislation, with Theresa May the first to make such a pledge. The legislation will also include and extension of Awaab’s Law to apply to the private sector. This is named after the toddler Awaab Ishak who died after exposure to mould and forces social landlords to investigate and fix hazards within a given timeframe. The government said 21% of privately rented homes are currently classified as “non-decent” and more than 500,000 contain the most serious hazards.
Up to 7,000 unsafe buildings have not applied for cladding safety scheme, minister says – Inside Housing
Inside Housing reports Rushanara Ali, Building Safety Minister, has told Parliament there are up to 7,000 unsafe buildings which have not applied for the Cladding Safety Scheme. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is currently monitoring cladding on 4,630 residential buildings that are taller than 11 metres in England, half of which have begun remediation. Ali’s comments came during a debate on building safety which was triggered by last week’s publishing of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s Phase 2 Report. The Building Safety Minister also provided more details on her plan for personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs), which were announced earlier this month. Under the plans, residents with disabilities and impairments will be entitled to a “person-centred” risk assessment and statement to help with fire safety or evacuation.
Mine water could heat thousands of Welsh homes – BBC News
BBC News reports the Welsh Government is considering plans to heat more homes using water-source heat projects from water in the abandoned mines of the country. The Coal Authority estimates about two trillion litres of warm water occupy old mine shafts across the UK. As a result, it considers mine water to be one of the best options to help with the decarbonisation of heating. One in five properties in Wales lies above an area which has the potential for a mine water heat scheme. The temperature of accessible mine water ranges between 10 and 20C depending on the depth. Work is under way to look at developing mine water heat projects in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Caerphilly and north east Wales.
