Government

A major housebuilder has thrown its weight behind government plans to release greenbelt land - but called for a rethink on the requirement for half of homes to be affordable. Philip Barnes, land and planning director at Barratt Redrow, said he was “excited” by Labour’s policy of promoting building on…

Nine major construction firms could be missing crucial internal audit functions that are key to identifying financial risks to firms and the industry itself, a leading auditing body has said. Of the top 30 firms in the UK construction sector, nine “may be operating without internal audit capabilities”, the chief…

Stalling developers, building safety regulator issues and squeezed social landlord finances mean the government is on track to miss its 2035 target for remediating dangerous cladding, according to a spending watchdog. A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) said work to remove the most dangerous aluminium composite material cladding…

A high-profile Parliamentary committee has announced a probe into the government’s progress in remediating high-rise buildings with dangerous cladding. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said it would summon senior officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and Homes England to give evidence. Its inquiry will delve…

The government has scrapped five National Highways road projects, saying it cannot afford them. Treasury documents released alongside yesterday’s Budget show that it is halting work on the A5036 Princess Way, A358 Taunton to Southfields, M27 J8 Southampton, the A47 Great Yarmouth Vauxhall Roundabout and A1 Morpeth to Ellingham schemes.…

A key steel reinforcement supplier is “considering its next steps” after ministers declined to call in a decision to redevelop its only UK production site. Steel giant ArcelorMittal, which claims to produce 30 per cent of the country’s steel reinforcement, told Construction News in May it would pull out of…

Leo Quinn, the boss with the biggest wage bill in construction, has given a cautious welcome to the Budget. Chancellor Rachel Reeves yesterday (30 October) announced a 1.2 percentage point rise in employers’ national insurance (NI) contributions and lowered the threshold at which employers start paying them. But Quinn, chief…

Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her Budget speech to announce more than £1bn for cladding remediation, alongside further billions to support housebuilding. Government investment in removing unsafe cladding, including new funds for social housing remediation, will exceed £1bn in 2025/2026, budget documents show. Construction News understands the investment will be spread…

A £2.3bn boost to prison building was included in the government’s Budget announcement today (30 October). The Treasury’s budget document said the investment in “prison expansion” covers the current fiscal year plus 2025/26. This will ensure thousands of new prison places will become available by 2026, with the under-construction HMP…

The New Hospital Programme will switch its focus to facilities containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), the government has announced. The Budget committed to continuing the major hospital programme but no longer aims to deliver 40 hospitals by 2030. Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the House of Commons that health secretary…