Health and Safety

The National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) has expressed “significant concern” over scaffolds collapsing during storms and high winds. Winds of up to 90mph have battered the UK in the past week, with Storm Henk – the eighth storm of the 2023/24 winter period – appearing to cause the collapse…

More than 90 Network Rail workers have been dismissed for consuming alcohol or drugs in the past four financial years, Construction News can reveal. Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that 23 of the rail company’s staff were sacked after tests found alcohol in their system at…

A builder has died after a roof collapse at a house undergoing a conversion in Leytonstone, east London last week. The man, who has not yet been named, died on 12 December, while a colleague was injured at the building on Pevensey Road. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said officers were…

Leicester City’s stadium expansion plans have won formal planning approval – on condition that counter-terrorism measures are incorporated into the construction phase. The football club secured initial approval for 8,000 extra seats in the East Stand of its King Power Stadium, as well as other facilities including a hotel, commercial…

A council has been fined £2m after the death of a worker during a road resurfacing job. Stephen Bell, 57, was barrowing tarmac from the back of a Newport City Council tipper lorry when he was struck by a farm vehicle passing the roadworks. According to a statement from the…

The government has named three companies given contracts worth a total of £35m to provide temporary classrooms at schools affected by the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). Algeco UK, Portakabin and Wernick Buildings have been awarded contracts worth £11.55m each by the Department for Education (DfE). The £35m cost…

A Balfour Beatty roadworker in Southampton was attacked with a baseball bat by a driver trying to get through a road closure, it has emerged. The incident was highlighted by the firm and Southampton City Council as part of an attempt to stamp out abuse of roadworkers. A survey by…

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has ordered Morgan Sindall to improve its health and safety practices after a crane accident at a nuclear site. On 21 August, a crane rail was dropped from a crane controlled by Morgan Sindall at the Devonshire Dock complex at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. The shipyard,…

A roofing company has been fined a total of £881,000 over two separate incidents where workers were seriously injured in falls. Mitie Tilley Roofing Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for incidents that took place in 2019 in Newcastle and Swansea . Billy Hewitt, 60, fell…

More than 100 schools are set to be completely rebuilt due to the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) crisis, the education secretary has said. On Wednesday (6 December) the government updated its list of schools and colleges in England that it has identified contain RAAC. The number now stands at…