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Lucie Wright is head of careers strategy at the Construction Industry Training Board Apprentices are the lifeblood of the industry. This is particularly true for SMEs: six in 10 construction apprentices are employed by businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Those employers would be some of the hardest-hit by a…

Brian McArdle is UK MD at Gleeds After eight months of a new Labour government, I’ve been assessing how the change of political leadership and current global turmoil may impact the UK construction market. We cannot control what happens on the wider stage, but we can try to be prepared…

Michael O’Connor is a construction lawyer at Charles Russell Speechlys The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) imposed new rights and obligations on the construction sector and owners of residential buildings. It also introduced new routes of recovery for parties affected by defects to residential buildings, with Remediation Contribution Orders (RCOs)…

Rico Wojtulewicz is head of policy and market insight at the National Federation of Builders The media and government often focus heavily on housing and housebuilders, which is understandable as new housing supply is a tangible measure of solving a known issue and demonstrating government commitment. However, what is often…

Duncan Rudall, chief executive of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors When thinking of sustainability in construction, retrofitting is often the topic that is first to mind. The argument is simple: keeping rather than replacing buildings reduces carbon emissions and minimises waste. But, while well-intentioned, retrofitting isn’t always the most…

The four horsemen of the apocalypse rode together. In the past decade, their counterparts in UK construction have arrived one by one. First came the famine of talent, as Brexit drained the labour pool and sent costs galloping. Then, the cruel pestilence of Covid disrupted supply chains and choked material…

Michael Weissman is legal director in the non-contentious construction team at law firm Howard Kennedy The UK's build-to-rent (BTR) sector has evolved strongly over the past decade and last year achieved the milestone of 100,000 built homes. According to Knight Frank, investment in UK BTR exceeded £5bn for the first…

Shy Jackson is a partner at law firm BCLP It was back in 1994 that Sir Michael Latham stated that a modern form of contract should include a specific duty for all parties to deal fairly with each other, and with their subcontractors, specialists and suppliers, in an atmosphere of…

Alison Fagan is infrastructure lead at law firm DLA Piper In 2025, the UK’s infrastructure sector stands at a critical juncture. The nation’s builders will no doubt welcome the recent announcement that the government intends to give judges the power to block appeals on nationally significant projects, plus its renewed…

Rebecca Roffe is a partner and Chris Devitt an associate at law firm CMS The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) emphasises the government’s commitment to economic growth through building. Key to this growth are proposals for a modern tech-focused economy, and nowhere is this more relevant than in the…