Government

Max Meadows is managing director of construction safety consultancy Project Four Six months ago, many in the industry would have described their experience of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) as challenging at best. Today, the picture feels more balanced. “The challenge for the next phase is turning it into a…

The government’s plan for a single construction regulator promises a reset of professional competence across the built environment. But as ministers look beyond buildings and products to the professions themselves, industry figures warn that licensing alone will not fix deep-rooted problems of skills, accountability and culture.

Last week, Homes England published its new strategic plan to support the government in achieving its commitment to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of the current parliament. So far, net additions to the housing stock between July 2024 and November 2025 amount to only about 275,600 homes ─ roughly…

The House of Lords has delivered its verdict on the early performance of the Building Safety Regulator, and it has not pulled its punches. In a report titled The Building Safety Regulator: Building a better regulator, peers describe a system beset by “unacceptable” delays, with applications routinely taking far longer…

If construction is one of the engines that drives any economy, there was very little in Wednesday’s Budget and the accompanying forecasts from the Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) to provide short term relief to the UK’s building contractors. The OBR now expects gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by…

Jonathan Parker is development director at framework provider Pagabo  This year’s fiscal events and ongoing policy updates highlight that the government is pushing for the progression of development, which is a welcome move. However, issues surrounding regeneration and how to effectively deliver on development goals remain hot topics – and…

Stephen Tracey is chair of the National Home Decarbonisation Group’s Green Skills Working Group and divisional manager for net zero carbon retrofit at Wates Group The government recently announced an £8m investment in retrofit skills with the Warm Homes Skills Programme (WHSP), an open grant competition for training providers and…

Jonathan Seddon is chief executive of contractor Seddon  The Spending Review’s £39bn investment in affordable and social housing is a welcome and overdue commitment – and the chancellor’s announcement has been met with optimism across the construction sector. It brings a sense of clarity to a market that is often…

Mark Lane, director at consultancy DPP Planning It’s nearly a year since Labour took office, and in that time it has made sweeping changes to the planning system. This government is promising to tackle the housing crisis and deliver 1.5 million homes over the next five years – an ambitious…

Mark Leeson is operations director at consultancy McBains Will the government’s recent defence-spending boost provide ammunition to help spark construction’s recovery? To say recent construction industry forecasts have been downbeat would be an understatement, what with consultancy Arcadis’ market-view report predicting a painfully slow revival and market analysts S&P Global’s…