Brexit

Timber supplies will be under pressure for months to come, a trade body has warned. The effects of COVID shutdowns earlier this year and huge domestic demand during lockdown hit the availability of the material in 2020 and the Timber Trade Federation said the strain on the supply chain will…

The recovery in construction output continued in October, but was slower than in previous months. Construction output crept up by 1 per cent in October compared to September, new data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed. It was the sixth straight month of growth since the recovery from…

The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) has warned the government that congestion at UK ports is affecting the availability of construction materials. BMF chief executive John Newcomb said: “There is a concern over the availability of products imported in containers, mainly from the Far East, such as ironmongery, plumbing items, tools…

Public and private sector clients fear suppliers could struggle to survive the coming months. Cashflow problems as a result of the pandemic, coupled with potential disruption caused by Brexit, could prove too much for some companies, a civil servant has warned. Speaking at the Construction News Summit, Department for Education…

Severfield’s chief executive has called his company’s half-year results “surprisingly good”. The structural steel specialist reported a £6.6m pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of September, compared to £8.2m for the same period last year. Chief executive Alan Dunsmore told Construction News: “It’s been a surprisingly good…

The number of EU-born construction workers in London has halved in two years. Since the third quarter of 2018, the London construction market has seen the number of EU-born workers drop from 115,000 to 53,000 – a fall of 54 per cent. This is greater than the overall fall in…

The UK will not fall behind the EU on standards around building products after Brexit, housing minister Christopher Pincher (pictured) has said. Pincher told the House of Commons that the government is bringing through legislation that would see the UK equal or better the product regulations of the EU. Pincher…

A proposed new connection between Northern Ireland and Scotland is more likely to be a tunnel than a bridge, Sir Peter Hendy has said. Earlier this year, prime minister Boris Johnson asked the Network Rail chair to look at how to improve transport connections across the UK, with Whitehall eyeing…

Trade bodies representing the providers of construction materials and equipment have warned a no-deal Brexit will lead to substantial price rises and shortages. Builders Merchants Federation chief executive John Newcomb said: “We need a deal with the EU. Without it, the impact of large-scale price increases across the industry and…

The Home Office has decided not to adopt a recommendation from its migration committee to relax immigration rules for bricklayers and masons, to encourage them to move to the UK. People working in occupations on the government’s shortage occupation list are given special dispensations under some immigration restrictions in a…