Government

The collapse of the UK’s sixth-biggest contractor, the Grenfell Inquiry phase two report and the change in government all had a massive impact on the industry this year – and will continue to do so in 2025 How will the construction industry remember 2024? Perhaps it will go down as…

Construction sector insiders are demanding action from chancellor Rachel Reeves when she delivers her first budget this Wednesday (30 October). Reeves has already announced boosts of £550m and £500m for school rebuilding and affordable housing respectively, and she has met finance leaders as part of a new infrastructure taskforce aimed…

This year, the Labour Party’s annual conference played host to 29 fringe events containing the word “housing” in the title. A further seven mentioned the word “infrastructure”. In crowded rooms across the conference zone on Liverpool’s dockside, delegates crammed in to hear the new army of excited “generation rent” MPs…

A bit like buses, we’ve waited years for a big government announcement on planning and two come along in seven months. In December last year, then-communities secretary Michael Gove released a National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that made new-home targets advisory. It didn’t last long. The first set-piece act of…

Clive Feeney is group managing director of LHC Procurement Group Labour’s determination to build 1.5 million homes over the lifetime of this parliament has created a national debate and one crucial question: how? There are several obstacles. First, there’s the construction skills shortage: the Home Builders Federation warns that for…

Nick Gray​​ is UK and Europe chief operating officer at consultancy Currie & Brown Between 1997 and 2010, more than 700 new public sector construction projects were successfully delivered, improving the fabric of many key sectors of the economy, such as education and healthcare. Arguably, the delivery of many of…

Roy Pinnock is a partner in the planning and public law team at Dentons How do we change and progress without abandonment and destruction? How many eggs do we break to make the omelette? How do we move from reacting to planning, which involves vision, bravery, risk, commitment, and then…

Grant Findlay is executive managing director – buildings at Sir Robert McAlpine Our sector is an economic bellwether for the UK. The ripples that spread to envelop the global economy often start within – or are at least first felt by – construction. Infrastructure, planning and development were key staples…

Jonathan Parker is development director at framework provider Pagabo  The newly elected government’s long-needed planning reforms, with their focus on unlocking development and setting housing targets, have been met with widespread approval. But planning reform is just the start, and development needs to look beyond new homes to wider town…

After its landslide general election win last month, how will the incoming Labour government reshape the planning system? The Labour government pledged to “get Britain building” in the King’s Speech on 17 July. So can contractors and homebuilders expect a bonanza of work? The week before King Charles delivered his…