Housing pledge
Political parties are being called on to dedicate £4bn a Housing Accelerator Fund in their
general election campaigns.
Housing Forum chief executive Shelagh Grant said: “A lack of affordable quality housing is the main problem holding back Britain. It limits people’s prosperity, keeps them in poor health, and stops them from reaching the opportunities they need to thrive.”
Going green
The construction industry is trailing behind other sectors in recording Scope 3 emissions. Just over half of firms were recording their indirect carbon footprints by the end of 2023, according to a Mobilityways survey of 100 firms.
Shoring up
The Environment Agency is seeking a contractor to complete up to £500m of flood-defence work in South East England. The River Thames Scheme is designed to reduce the risk to 10,000 homes and businesses.
Tender and mild
There will be mild price inflation of 2 per cent this year before a slight increase in 2025, according to Gardiner & Theobald’s latest quarterly tender price forecast.
90:1
The application-to-hiring ratio for ethnic minority candidates for construction jobs, according to the Sustainability Tool’s latest annual Diversity Survey Benchmarking Report.
82
The score (out of 100) for UK construction SMEs in the latest quarterly Manufacturing Health Index from Unleashed.
15.5GW
The amount of generating capacity AtkinsRealis estimates needs to be built each year to 2035 to achieve the UK’s goal of decarbonised electricity.
40%
The amount scaffolding costs have risen in the past year, according
to insurer Woodgate & Clark.
Let’s get loud
People in Leeds, Huddersfield and London make the most Google searches to complain about construction noise every month, according to research from Herts Tool Co.
