Nominate your emerging talent to co-chair Generation4Change
Andreea Vihristencu has decided to resign from her role as co-chair of G4C. Andreea has brought tremendous energy and insight into the views of the younger generation in her two–year tenure as co-chair and we thank her for her leadership. As she moves on, an opportunity opens up for a new G4C Co-Chair to join the movement and become a voice for the younger generation of construction. G4C are searching for a new Co-Chair to work alongside current Co-Chair Lydia McGuinness. If you’re interested in this role, please fill in the application form. G4C Co-Chair Application (dotdigital-pages.com)
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero launches a campaign to offer energy saving tips for families and £150 Warm Home Discount support for the most vulnerable
On Monday (16 October), the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced the new ‘It All Adds Up’ campaign. It will aim to help people make simple changes to save at least £100 over the course of a year. The Warm Home Discount will also be rolled out to provide more than three million households with £150 towards winter fuel costs.
Claire Coutinho, Energy Security Secretary, gives a speech at the Energy UK 2023 conference
On Wednesday (18 October) the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Claire Coutinho, delivered a speech to the Energy UK conference 2023. In her speech, Coutinho advocated for ‘affordable, reliable, abundant energy’ and the prioritisation of training a skilled work force and ‘scaling-up green jobs and growth’.
Labour secures double by-election victory
On Thursday (19 October) voters went to the polls in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth to elect Labour candidates Alistair Strathern and Sarah Edwards as their new parliamentary representatives. Mid Bedfordshire saw a 24,664 majority overturned by a 12.4% swing to Labour and a 28.6% downturn for the Conservatives. Meanwhile Labour returned a majority for the first time in Tamworth since a bellwether by-election in 1996, achieving a 23.9% swing. Voter turnout was nearly half of that for the 2019 General Election, with Conservative Party Chair, Greg Hands MP, claiming that there was low turnout among traditional Conservative voters. Keir Starmer welcomed the result, claiming: “Labour is back in the service of working people and redrawing the political map.”
Second National Infrastructure Assessment sets agenda for action over next 30 years
Improved infrastructure to boost economic growth across the UK and meet climate goals is both achievable and affordable if the right policy steps are taken now, according to the government’s independent advisers on infrastructure strategy. The Second National Infrastructure Assessment – a five yearly review conducted by the National Infrastructure Commission – sets out a programme of transformation for the country’s energy, transport and other key networks over the next 30 years. See Long term review sets out pressing need to modernise infrastructure to support economic growth and climate action – NIC
Guidance on the criteria for being a Higher-Risk Building
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) have published two sets of guidance:
- Criteria for determining whether an existing building is a higher-risk building during building work; and
- Criteria for determining whether a new building that is being designed and constructed is a higher-risk building.
Both sets of guidance relate to the legal criteria for determining whether a building is considered a higher-risk building and aim to help potential dutyholders and accountable persons identify whether they are responsible for a building in scope of the higher-risk regime. Guidance on the criteria for being a Higher-Risk Building – Construction Leadership Council
