UK construction and property
- Output | All construction output fell 0.5% in August, a second consecutive fall. A 1.0% increase in Repair and Maintenance was offset by a 1.5% fall in new work. Five of the nine sectors fell, with private commercial falling 4.1%.
- Insolvencies | According to the Insolvency Service, insolvencies in the construction sector rose again after falling the previous month, continuing their volatile trend.
- Green collusion | The Competition & Markets Authority has published guidance – titled the Green Agreements Guidance – to show businesses how they can collude on environmental policies without breaking the law. Normally, such collusion breaches the Competition Act 1998, but an exemption is made for environmental sustainability policies.
- Fire safety | The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has developed a free online fire safety awareness course in response to the Grenfell Tower fire inquiry. The CITB worked with specialists in the industry to develop the training, which can be found here.
- Laser bunker | The Central Laser Facility (CLF) on the Harwell Campus in Oxford is preparing to build a bunker for the arrival of the world’s most powerful laser. It will require two seven-metre-tall targeting bunkers with walls and soffits up to two-metres thick.
- HS2 contracts | Analysis of HS2’s invoices by Tussell, a consultancy that monitors government contracts, shows that the government has already spent £1.25bn on contracts of Phase 2 of the line of which Rishi Sunak recently announced the cancellation.
