Author name: Natasha Solomon

The government must take “urgent action” to ensure there are enough workers to deliver the UK’s green transition, its own infrastructure watchdog has said. In a report published this morning (21 February), the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) said skills shortages “pose a significant challenge for the deliverability of the energy transition” from fossil fuels to

Ministers have ordered public bodies to increase their procurement spending on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A national procurement policy statement published by the Cabinet Office last week said in-scope contracting authorities should “maximise” the proportion of their budgets directed to SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs). Public sector reform minister Georgia Gould

A contractor has received more than £60,000 in compensation from a council following delays to a civils project caused by houseboats on a neighbouring canal. Enfield Council paid Taylor Woodrow the compensation after a series of delays caused by houseboats near the £6bn Meridian Water Regeneration Project, on which the authority is the client. The

A joint venture (JV) between Graham and Bam Ireland has been appointed to build a £671m children’s hospital in Belfast.  The project at Royal Victoria Hospital will be undertaken by the Northern-Ireland based Graham and Bam Healthcare Partnership (GBHP). The 10-storey hospital will have 155 beds – 80 per cent with ensuite bathrooms – as

Concrete contractor LGW Group has acquired supplier Multi-Crete Concrete & Concrete Pumping. The deal, announced last week, sees the Bristol company take control of the Gloucestershire firm from former owners Simon Robinson and Jason Bowen. LGW works across the south of England and Wales. Its brands include Wright Minimix, Bristol Brick Company, Prodeck-Fixing and Mexboro.

The entire portfolio of a building company’s modular assets has been put up for auction. More than 500 lots including a 2021 Stour Twin Column Welding Cell and 2020 ABB IRB 8700 Foundry Plus articulated robotic handling arm are available to buy. Asset disposal company BPI said the items represented the “complete asset portfolio of

Discovery of a latent building safety threat suggests gaps in the government’s knowledge of its building stock In December 2023, a section of concrete blockwork fell through a suspended ceiling at Fordley Primary School, landing on the floor of a classroom. Hours before the school closed for the Christmas holidays, staff found the debris on