Supply Chain

Construction output has fallen after five consecutive months of growth, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal. Following a surge in March driven by increased repair works after major storms, output decreased by 0.4 per cent in April, or £58m. It was the first monthly decline since October…

Key industry figures have sounded the alarm after research showed residential construction growth slowed to its weakest pace since the first COVID-19 lockdown. The closely-watched housebuilding index produced by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) registered a reading of 50.7 in May, its lowest level since May 2020.…

Hull-based national framework provider Pagabo has notified firms of a £1bn framework for medium-sized projects. This will be the second iteration of the medium works framework, which will run for four years from January 2023. It will replace the first-generation framework that expires in December. Morgan Sindall, Vinci and Interserve…

Small and medium-sized construction firms will need help to grasp the new “rules of the game”, a crossbench peer has warned, as public-sector procurement policies undergo a major overhaul. The government’s Procurement Bill, which began its passage through the Houses of Parliament in the Lords earlier this month, had its…

A five-point plan to mitigate the impact of rising inflation on construction companies has been published by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC). The list – created by the CLC in conjunction with sector experts – aims to resolve issues around the availability and cost of key materials amid current pressures.…

A payment row has broken out on a £150m project to create an energy-from-waste plant in Aberdeen. Main contractor Acciona confirmed it was keeping a close eye on the tense situation on the Ness site in northern Scotland. A subsidiary of the Spanish construction giant, EfW Ness Ltd, is building…

Balfour Beatty, Ford and the Lighthouse Club construction industry charity have launched a campaign to make mental health support more visible on construction sites, using distinguishable vehicles and special vests for staff. The Make it Visible campaign provides mental health experts from Lighthouse Club with specialised vans to get to…

The chief executive of brick supplier Forterra is to step down at the company after a decade at the helm. Stephen Harrison has announced plans to leave early next year, with the brickmaker now starting the process of finding a successor. Commenting on his departure, Harrison said: “After ten years…

Rudi Klein (pictured left) is a barrister and Stephen Woodward is a risk management consultant. Klein was formerly chief executive of the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group, which campaigned for 20 years to reform payment retentions in construction The construction industry has long had a problem with diversity of thinking. Too…

A bespoke taskforce to assess the health of the UK’s current and future supply chain must be established to protect manufacturers against unpredictable “economic shocks”, industry leaders have warned. Manufacturing experts have called for a cross-industry and government group to assess the country’s “supply chain resilience and capabilities” now and…