Decline In Residential-Starts Holds Back Construction Industry Recovery

 Overall project-starts saw a steady slowdown in Q.2 and Q.3, after an initial surge in the first quarter and continued to fall in September, albeit at a slower rate, according to the September analysis from Glenigan. Further, the development pipeline remained robust throughout the year, particularly for some non-residential sectors, including industrial. Main contract awards have been increasing over the last eighteen months, ever since the first National Lockdown in March 2020 and detailing planning approvals remain consistently high. Read more on Specification Online.

https://specificationonline.co.uk/articles/2021-10-12/glenigan/strong-decline-in-residential-starts-holds-back-construction-industry-recovery

Safety Reforms Might Not Come Into Force Until Seven Years After Grenfell

New building safety laws might not become effective for another four years, a senior government advisor has warned. The government is set to introduce the first draft of the Building Safety Bill, which was prompted by the Grenfell fire tragedy three years ago, shortly alongside an announcement by housing secretary Robert Jenrick. The bill will set out a new regulatory regime which will overhaul how responsibility for building safety is managed in the industry. But Graham Watts, Construction Industry Council chief executive, said the reforms were still at an early stage and may not fully come into force until seven years after the fire. Read more on the Housing Today website.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/advisor-says-building-safety-reforms-might-not-come-into-force-until-seven-years-after-grenfell/5107041.article

£4.6bn Paid Out To Support Wages Across Construction

The Government has paid out £4.6bn since March to support the wages of construction staff on furlough and self-employed workers laid off in the lockdown. Up to 1.48m construction staff and self-employed workers have received some kind of wages support during the coronavirus outbreak.

According to latest Government figures, so far 801,000 self-employed construction workers have received pay-outs from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, totalling over £2.8bn. Over the same period, more than 150,000 construction firms submitted claims for Government support for 680,000 furloughed staff. Read more on the Construction Enquirer website.

https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2020/06/11/furlough-claims-for-construction-staff-reach-1-8bn/

Government Urged To Step-Up Support For Small Construction Firms

Government must step-up its support for small construction firms amid the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has said. Referencing construction PMI data, FMB highlight that construction activity in March fell at the fastest rate since the financial crisis of April 2009. Lower workloads and business closures resulted in a marked reduction in staffing numbers across the construction sector during March, the report reveals. This indicates the steepest pace of job shedding since September 2010. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/coronavirus-government-urged-to-step-up-support-for-small-construction-firms/

Brexit Uncertainty Constrains Construction Sector Optimism

The uncertain outlook for the UK economy has led to reduced optimism, according to the results of the Q3 2019 RICS UK Construction and Infrastructure Market Survey. With anecdotal evidence from respondents suggests that the housing market slowdown, coupled with unrelenting Brexit and political uncertainty, is weighing on investment decisions. The survey results point to a notable deceleration in workloads, this quarter, with only a net balance of +10% reporting an increase in total workloads, down on average from +33% between 2013 and Q2 2016. Read more on the RICS website.

https://www.rics.org/uk/news-insight/latest-news/press-releases/brexit-construction/

Problems Mounting For Builders, According To FMB Survey

Growth in the construction industry could be held back by a weakening housing market, rising costs and an increasingly nervous banking sector. The Federation of Master Builders latest State of Trade Survey showed that workloads for construction SMEs grew in Q4 2018. Despite this, there are “serious concerns” about the mounting problems facing small building firms, including:

• 42% of builders have detected signs of a weakening housing market
• One in five construction SMEs have had projects stalled in the past three months

• Carpenters overtake bricklayers as the trade in shortest supply

• 87% of builders anticipate that material prices will rise further in the next six months

• Two-thirds (66%) of construction SMEs expect wages and salaries to increase over the next six months

Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/problems-mounting-for-builders-according-to-new-fmb-survey/

Construction Industry ‘Riven With Conflicts Of Interest At Every Turn’

A construction industry “riven with conflicts of interest at every turn” needs urgent and wide-ranging action from government to ensure high-rise safety post-Grenfell, a key Commons committee says. The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee recommends extensive changes to building regulations, following the publication of the final report of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety set up after the Grenfell disaster. “The industry is riven with conflicts of interest at every turn, with manufacturers choosing the most lenient testing bodies for their products.” Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/construction-industry-riven-with-conflicts-of-interest-at-every-turn/

Sector ‘Particularly Vulnerable’ To Brexit Impact, Report Warns

The social housing construction and operation sector is “particularly vulnerable” to the impacts of Brexit, a new report has warned. Jonathan Linton, director of the Logistics and Supply Chain Management Research Centre at the University of Sheffield, said the industry was sensitive to economic volatility expected after the UK leaves the EU next year. In a report commissioned by social housing and procurement consortium Re:allies, Mr Linton said social housing firms were also at risk. “Uncertainty, volatility and unanticipated consequences will continue to impact social housing supply chains for many years,” he said. The professor called for a more streamlined supply chain. Download the report from the University of Sheffield website.

file:///S:/Business%20Improvement%20and%20Development/BID_09_10/Filing/002887_Social_Housing_Supply_Chains_and_Brexit.pdf

Construction Industry Could Lose 8% Of Workforce Post-Brexit

New RICS figures reveal that the UK construction industry could lose almost 200,000 EU workers post-Brexit should Britain lose access to the single market, putting some of the country’s biggest infrastructure and construction projects under threat.

·         8% of UK construction workforce comes from the EU

·         Post-Brexit, should UK lose access to single market, 176,500 jobs could be under threat

·         Industry is already facing skills shortages, jeopardising a predicted £500 billion project pipeline

Read more on the RICS website.

Public Housing Projects Boost Build Figures

A 5.5% rise in public housing – which includes housing associations – boosted the UKs latest construction output figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the monthly estimate of output in the construction industry in Great Britain for November 2016, in both the private and public sectors. This estimate outlined:

·         Total new housing output grew at a monthly rate of 1.2% in comparison with October 2016, representing the biggest increment since February 2016

·         This increase is in part a result of the notable 5.5% rise in public housing, which includes housing associations

·         There was an increase of 13.7% compared with November 2015, the largest month-on-year growth rise since December 2014.

Read more on 24housing.

Government Review Warns Of 'Inexorable Decline' In Construction

The British construction industry faces “inexorable decline” unless radical action is taken to modernise it, a government review has found. The Farmer Review of the UK Construction Labour Model, commissioned jointly by the CLG and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, has published a damning verdict on the sector. Its most radical proposal for change was the introduction of a ‘levy’ on schemes, which charges additional tax of up to 0.5% of the scheme’s value if it does not support innovation or training. The report slammed the construction sector’s “dysfunctional training model, and its lack of innovation and collaboration, as well as its non-existent research and development culture”. Download the report from the CLG website.

Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support he has provided to local authorities and the construction industry to encourage the promotion of self-build schemes for constructing new homes.

Gavin Barwell:We have a strong commitment to supporting and encouraging the growth of self- and custom build homes. The Government has implemented new legislation requiring most local planning authorities to hold and have regard to registers for those seeking to build their own home in a local authority area. Subject to Parliamentary processes, in the Autumn we will also introduce secondary legislation flowing from the Housing and Planning Act 2016 which will require local planning authorities to find and give permission to suitable land reflecting the demand demonstrated by the registers. We have made available £32 million in new burdens funding over the Spending Review period in order to support local planning authorities in meeting these new requirements. In the 2015 Spending Review, the Government also announced a £3 billion loan fund of which £1 billion is specifically earmarked for short term loans to support small and medium builders and custom build projects and is designed to provide further support for the legislation that we have introduced.

Brexit Could Worsen Construction Skills Crisis

The UK’s decision to quit the European Union could worsen the construction skills crisis the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has warned. “The UK construction industry has been heavily reliant on migrant workers from Europe for decades now – at present, 12% of the British construction workers are of non-UK origin. The majority of these workers are from EU countries such as Poland, Romania and Lithuania and they have helped the construction industry bounce back from the economic downturn when 400,000 skilled workers left our industry, most of which did not return,” said FMB chief executive Brian Berry. “It is now the Government’s responsibility to ensure that the free-flowing tap of migrant workers from Europe is not turned off.” Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Construction-Sector Recovery at Risk from Skills Shortage

A shortage of bricklayers, carpenters and site managers threatens to derail the construction sector’s recovery, an industry group has warned after fresh evidence of recruitment struggles at building companies. The Federation of Master Builders said its latest poll of small and medium-sized (SME) construction firms found employment picked up for the sixth quarter running and the growth was expected to continue over the coming three months. But about half of the 400 or so companies surveyed said they were struggling to recruit bricklayers. Brian Berry, the chief executive, said a skills shortage continued “to loom large over our industry. Almost half of construction SMEs are struggling to recruit adequate numbers of bricklayers, with others finding it increasingly hard to hire carpenters and joiners, site managers and supervisors.” Read more on the Guardian website.

Brick and Brickie Shortages Threaten Housing Targets

Increasing shortages of bricklayers and bricks threaten to undermine ambitious housebuilding plans laid out by politicians ahead of the election, a leading construction industry group has warned. All the main parties have sought to assure voters they will tackle Britain’s chronic housing shortage but the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) says its members are already struggling to get the skills and materials they need to meet demand. Half of small- and medium-sized (SME) builders are finding it difficult to recruit bricklayers, according to the FMB. Two in five say they are struggling to source certain types of bricks, with some being asked to wait up to six months for new stocks from suppliers. Read more on the FMB website.

Construction Industry Boosted By Surge in Public Sector Housebuilding

A surge in public sector housebuilding helped the construction sector return to health in September, according to official figures.  Housing Associations and other publicly funded bodies reported their biggest monthly jump in building activity since 1997. Alongside an increase in factory and infrastructure building, that helped boost the construction sector to a 1.8% rise in output during September, after a 3.0% decline in August. Annual growth reached 3.5%. The Office for National Statistics said a strong flow of housebuilding over the last year was single biggest factor in revitalising the sector, after a 22.3% increase in activity since September 2013. Read more on the Guardian website.

Construction Output For Public Housing Up By 30%

The construction industry output for new public housing work has increased by nearly 30 per cent in the past 12 months. Office for National Statistics figures for May show activity rose by 29.3 per cent year on year, compared with 16.8 per cent for private housing. All new housing work grew by 19.4 per cent. The data is based on the results of a monthly survey of 8,000 businesses in Great Britain. Output is defined as the amount construction companies charge to customers for value of work produced during the period, excluding VAT and payments to sub-contractors. Read more on Inside Housing.

Tory Council Rebels over Government's Affordable Homes Concession

A government decision to let housing developers scrap affordable homes to maintain profits is "storing up trouble for the future" and fuelling nimbyism, a leading Tory council has warned. The leadership of Milton Keynes has complained that the decision to water down the requirement for developers to include affordable homes in their plans was a reaction to "squeals" from the construction industry claiming the policy has "swung the balance much too far in favour of the developers". If the policy persists, the town will build 500 fewer affordable homes over the next five years, according to its figures. Read more on the Guardian website.

Social Housing Only Highlight As Building Sector Suffers Poor Start To 2013

The Glenigan Index for the three months to January fell by 18 percent compared with January 2012, as activity across most of the construction sector dropped off.  Social housing starts were up by one percent compared to last year - the only area of the sector to see an increase.  Read more on 24dash.

Reviving the Economy by Moving Out the 'Bedroom Blockers'

Lord Best has come up with a new strategy that will, in his words, "solve all the country's problems".  Here's what the peer proposes: building 100,000 retirement, supported housing and extra-care homes a year. The trickledown effect will, in one handy flourish, pull Britain out of double-dip recession while also solving the country's acute and growing housing crisis.  The boost to the construction industry would, by his calculations, create between 300,000 and 500,000 new jobs.  Building 100,000 homes designed especially for the needs of an ageing population would also help to house 350,000 other people. By selling their under-occupied large family homes and downsizing to smaller, specialist properties, our older people could help a whole generation of potential first-time buyers who are priced out of the market.  Lord Best said many of these homes would have been untouched and undecorated for up to 35 years, and so would sell at the lower end of average market value and be affordable to families struggling through recession. "Nearly all of the 7.8m people of pensionable age have more than two spare rooms, making way for 350,000 family [members] with children."  Read more on the Guardian website.