The Week That Was - 11 October 2024

Welcome to the week that was, a round-up of key events in the construction sector over the last seven days.

Eighteen-month deadline for developers to commence cladding works

The Labour Government has proposed a new 'remediation acceleration plan', aimed to have dangerous cladding removed from buildings quicker. At the party's conference, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner suggested that homebuilders will need to complete their assessments of which buildings require remediation within six months, with those works to be commenced within 12 months thereafter. A meeting is scheduled for later this month between Rayner and industry executives in order to finalise the plans.

Seeking to allay industry concerns about delays at the new Building Safety Regulator, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has promised to take steps to minimise lead times for sign-off of cladding works, providing these steps aren't felt to adversely impact the Regulator's ability to carry out its supervisory functions.

The plan is expected to affect some industry players harder than others, with some developers being far closer to completion of their building assessments.

For more information, please click here. 

Mayor picks top names for London's new 'Town Architects'

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has launched a new two-year pilot assigning 10 architects to areas across London with an aim to improve the design of public spaces.  These ‘town architects’ have been selected from a panel of design advocates and built-environment professionals.  Each architect is responsible for a specific neighbourhood with the goal of ensuring that new buildings and public spaces ‘benefit Londoners by promoting quality and inclusion'.  The Greater London Authority (GLA) says that the architects will support chief planning officers by reviewing projects and assisting with the development of local planning strategy. 

The architects' responsibilities will include establishing quality management protocols and best-practice procurement approaches; refining design competition processes; and providing constructive and critical oversight across projects within their areas.  The GLA highlights that the architects will provide ‘much-needed capacity' in the boroughs, helping authorities maintain coherence across schemes. The programme will receive £180,000 of government funding as part of Khan’s wider plan to support local growth and improve design through the £1.25 million Local Growth Capacity Support Programme.

For more information, please click here and here.

Employment Rights Bill to bring changes for contractors

The Employment Rights Bill is due to be published next week.  The Bill will take slightly longer to become law but will see several changes which will have an impact on the construction sector.  For example:

• The removal of the two-year minimum period of service for an unfair dismissal claim, expanding employees' day one employment rights. The Government has indicated that this would not be applied to employees in probationary periods with probation capped at 6 months. This will put more emphasis on recruitment, induction, training and probation.

• Giving zero-hours workers a right to guaranteed hours and reasonable notice of a shift change (with compensation for short-notice changes). The construction sector often relies on flexible working when projects are unpredictable.

For more information please read here.

Clay as low-carbon alternative to concrete to be trialled

Innovate UK is investing £3.2m in several projects, including HS2, in an attempt to propel the decarbonisation of the UK's concrete industry. 

The HS2's London tunnel's team will replace cement with repurposed London clay. Initial data from the original trial shows that heated clay is a viable alternative as it is excavated from the tunnels and is essentially a waste product. These figures show a considerable carbon reduction. 

If successful, this trial may result in millions of pounds being saved on similar projects and could see clay used as a low-carbon concrete for general commercial use.

For more information please read here.

Construction activity grows at the fastest rate in more than two years

Construction activity has grown at its fastest rate since April 2022. September’s headline S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index has reported growth for the seventh month in a row, with the September figure of 57.2 being the highest in nearly two and a half years.

S&P Global UK explained that factors such as lower interest rates, domestic economic stability, the recently elected Labour Government and strong pipelines of infrastructure work have helped to boost order books in the past few months.

Civil engineering activity has grown the most in September, from an index figure of 51.8 to 59, which is the sector's best performance since June 2021. The commercial building and housebuilding sectors have also seen growth representing the fastest uptick in activity in two and half years. 

You can read more here.

Build UK publish FAQ for suppliers impacted by ISG collapse

Build UK have warned suppliers impacted by the collapse of ISG that they are unlikely to be paid and have published a four-page document of frequently asked questions for them.  

The guidance offers a "simplified summary" of how company administration and contract novation work. It explains which ISG companies entered administration and urges companies to check whether they were carrying out work with ISG or as a subcontractor on an ISG project. The guidance advises companies to stop carrying out any works, explaining that a suspension notice can be issued if they have not been paid in accordance with their contract terms. 

Build UK have advised that, although the firms working for subcontractors on ISG projects “legally should still be paid”, if companies in the chain are not being paid, this may affect their ability to pay. They have suggested that suppliers should check the termination provisions in their contracts and comply with them if they are considering terminating their contracts with ISG.

You can read more here.

With thanks to:  Sky Arklay, Ellen Ryan, Abbie Dyas and Joe Towse

Disclaimer: The information in this publication is for guidance purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.  We attempt to ensure that the content is current as at the date of publication, but we do not guarantee that it remains up to date.  You should seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any of the content.