Long reads

14% The construction sector accounts for almost one in seven employee-owned firms in the UK, according to the latest UK Employee Ownership Business Register. Fiona Bell, partner and employee-ownership trust specialist at RSM UK, said: “Construction is the fastest-growing sector for employee ownership, with our clients reporting increased employee engagement,…

From debt crisis to ‘government’s speed-dial contractor’ in six years – CN reflects on CEO’s legacy

As a pre-action legal letter is sent to the MoJ, CN asks if project bank account agreements are worth the paper they’re written on

The flagship technical qualification has struggled with low take-up, with one construction course already scrapped. Yet some courses are seeing success. Ella Jessel investigates

Does the government’s £625m pledge on construction skills training stand up to scrutiny? 

What are the impacts of the recent Spending Review and 10-year infrastructure strategy?

Released a dozen years ago, the Construction 2025 strategy’s vision has yet to materialise. Was it naive? Or should the sector still be aiming for the same goals today?

300,000 The expected shortfall below the government’s target to have 1.5 million new homes built by the end of the decade, based on Homes England’s latest figures for starts and completions. David Crosthwaite, chief economist at the Building Cost Information Service, said: “The target was always unrealistic given that the…

A single set of net zero construction standards aims to end the bewilderment caused by myriad sector benchmarks – and put a stop to greenwashing

The construction sector may be committed to the principle of net zero, but there remain many challenges to ditching the industry’s favourite fuel