Government

The government has scrapped reforms intended to tighten audit processes for large firms. On Monday (19 January), small businesses minister Blair McDougall announced the government had “reached the difficult decision” not to proceed with the reforms, which were first proposed after high-profile business collapses such as major contractor Carillion. The…

A regulatory shake-up announced today is set to reshape the water industry’s capital delivery, offering contractors greater visibility over future workloads and smoothing the transition between investment cycles. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs today (20 January) released its water white paper, which it described as “once-in-a-generation reforms”…

Seven new hospitals being built to replace reinforced aerated autoclaved concrete- (RAAC-) affected buildings will be delayed by three years and miss their 2030 deadline. An independent report commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in 2022 recommended that hospitals in the government's New Hospital Programme with…

A proposed national site standard for women in construction – already adopted by a leading construction body – has been officially launched at the House of Lords. The National Site Standard for Female Operatives, authored by Construction for Women (CFW), is calling for 11 key changes to be brought into…

Total output in the UK construction sector fell 1.1 per cent in the three months to November last year, compared with the previous three-month period. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the decrease was the largest quarterly drop since March 2023, when it went down by 1.4 per…

The Scottish Government has published a draft 10-year infrastructure strategy and pipeline, outlining its intention to harness new models to leverage private finance. A consultation document covering infrastructure planning, investment and delivery between 2027 and 2037 was announced alongside yesterday’s Scottish Budget for 2026/27. The strategy, aimed at three key…

The government has set out its plan to improve rail links between cities and towns in the north of England, with a multibillion-pound infrastructure scheme known as Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR). The project was first mooted 10 years ago, but now the government has pledged an initial £1.1bn for design…

Family-run construction firms are still facing an “existential” threat despite the government’s changes to the inheritance tax cap. The warning comes after chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in December that she would lift the threshold at which 20 per cent death duties apply to family-owned businesses from £1m to £2.5m. Under…

The number of immigration arrests on UK construction premises during the first nine months of 2025 was almost three times the 2024 figure and the highest for at least a decade. Data supplied to Construction News under the Freedom of Information Act showed that from January to September there were…

Investigators working for the government’s housing ministry used covert methods – including a false cover story – without legal authority in order to gather intelligence on cladding compliance. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) admitted in October 2023 to indirectly and unknowingly employing undercover agents to aid…