A Construction Skills Mission Board will oversee a £600m package aimed at training 60,000 construction workers by 2029, including 10 new Technical Excellence Colleges, the government has announced. The new colleges will be backed by £100m of public funding and will focus on developing advanced technical training in trades and…
Balfour Beatty boss Leo Quinn has pushed back against suggestions by HS2 bosses that construction contracts on the London to Birmingham rail scheme could be renegotiated. In December, Construction News reported comments made to MPs by HS2 chief financial officer Alan Foster, saying that contractors accepted that the legal agreements…
Two directors of a Liverpool building firm are among 12 people, including the city’s former mayor, who will appear in court after being charged in relation to the award of contracts by the city council. In a statement, Merseyside Police said that all of the charges had been brought following…
Leo Quinn, whose departure as Balfour Beatty chief executive was announced today, has had a major impact on transforming his firm – many would argue on the construction industry in general. In a LinkedIn post today, the man who turned round the struggling firm called his role “the best job…
Leo Quinn is to step down from his role as Balfour Beatty’s chief executive after 10 years at the helm. The UK’s largest contractor has announced that Quinn will be succeeded by Philip Hoare, chief operating officer at AtkinsRéalis, in September. Quinn will continue in an advisory capacity for several…
A single regulator for construction is among a raft of measures announced today (26 February) in response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase two report, but it will not be handed key product safety functions. Housing secretary Angela Rayner told the House of Commons today that she would accept all…
A major procurement provider has appointed 126 firms to a £660m retrofit and decarbonisation framework for public sector work. The LHC Procurement Group (LHCPG) Retrofit and Decarbonisation (N9) framework will run until the end of February 2029, providing public sector clients and registered social landlords with access to vetted local…
A decade after her organisation was formed, Build UK boss Suzannah Nichol on the challenges and rewards of representing both main and sub-contractors I meet Build UK chief executive Suzannah Nichol, along with her long-serving deputy Jo Fautley, over a cup of tea in a swish London hotel bar. Nichol…
Mark Farmer’s review of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) was released today (30 January). In an interview with Construction News, he explains his recommendations, and why improving quality is important in driving up the number of people employed in construction. You recommend a merger between the Engineering Construction Industry…
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…
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