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Orlaithe Whelan is an apprentice quantity surveyor at Berkeley Homes I was always looking for an apprenticeship route rather than a university one because I didn’t see the point in getting into debt for a degree that I wasn’t sure would align with my interests or strengths. My perspective shifted…

Amit Oberoi is executive chairman of the Considerate Constructors’ Scheme Climate change is the defining challenge of our generation, and it is obvious more needs to be done to mitigate its worst effects. Construction is uniquely placed to be a major part of the solution, not only in reducing its…

Charis Beverton is a partner at law firm Winckworth Sherwood Since last summer’s general election, development conversations have centred around Labour’s target of building 1.5 million homes over the next five years. In December, we heard the prime minister again double down on that pledge as part of the government’s…

Allan Wilen is economics director at Glenigan The new year promises a gradual strengthening in construction activity, although the recent loss of momentum in the UK economy highlights the potential risks to the expected upturn. “Despite the recent turbulence, the pace of UK economy growth is widely forecast to accelerate…

Harvard-educated Sir James Wates might not seem like your typical tax justice campaigner. Last year, his family moved further up the Sunday Times Rich List, with a net value of £426m. But the director and former chairman of his family firm is at the head of a growing protest movement…

Lilly Gallafent is a director and board member at Cast Consultancy  The introduction of the Building Safety Act (BSA)has redefined accountability and safety expectations. As the sector adjusts, the need for a procurement overhaul has become apparent. To build resilience and trust in the built environment, we must move beyond…

David Pickstone is a partner and Anastasia Nourescu is a senior associate at law firm Stewarts HMRC has recently intensified its scrutiny of research and development tax relief claims, targeting inadequate submissions from rogue advisers and seeking to narrow the interpretation of the rules around subsidised and contracted-out R&D. Construction…

Joanna Rees is a partner at law firm Blake Morgan The collapse of ISG in September created waves across the UK’s construction industry. It served as a painful reminder of the knock-on effects that insolvency can have throughout the supply chain, and the challenges it creates in both the private…

Andrew Rolf is a health sector technical advisor for UK and Europe at Mott MacDonald Asbestos, high alumina cement and, more recently, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) have highlighted potentially unseen risks that can exist within built public infrastructure, with hospitals being acutely affected. Each of these materials was heralded,…

As we return bleary-eyed and sated from our Christmas holidays, thoughts turn to what the year ahead holds for the construction sector. With major policy changes and ambitious targets in place or being prepared, will the government’s promises to “get Britain building again” translate into meaningful action? The Procurement Act,…