Weekly News 09/12

Weekly News 09/12

News

Accelerating Building Safety Remediation

Speaking in the House of Commons earlier this week, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner promised to ‘hold the industry to account’ as she set out the Government’s ambition for a ‘generational shift’ in the safety and quality of housing. Her department, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), has committed to speeding up the remediation of unsafe cladding on high‐rise residential buildings, and the latest measures announced this week include:

  • The new Remediation Acceleration Plan which aims to ensure that by the end of 2029 all buildings over 18 metres with unsafe cladding in a Government‐funded scheme have been remediated and that all buildings over 11 metres have been remediated or have a date for completion, otherwise those responsible will be ‘liable for severe penalties’. The plan will be supported by increased investment in enforcement activity, as well as pipeline data for the remediation programme to give confidence to contractors and encourage investment in skills, resources and training.
  • A joint plan with developers to speed up work on buildings for which they are responsible. The Deputy Prime Minister has written directly to organisations responsible for the safety of high‐rise residential buildings in Government‐funded schemes informing them that remediation work must start on site as soon as possible in 2025 or they could face direct legal action to recover the costs of remediation.
  • The introduction of the new Building Safety Levy in autumn 2025 on all new eligible residential buildings in England which require Building Control Approval.
  • System‐wide construction products reform, which will include liabilities, robust sanctions and penalties against manufacturers. The Government has also confirmed that those involved in the Grenfell Tower tragedy will be excluded from Government contracts in the future unless they demonstrate ‘cooperation, corporate renewal and compensation’.
  • A ‘fundamental review’ of the Approved Documents, which provide guidance to the Building Regulations, led by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).

Delivering the Government’s ambition will require further legislation, and we recognise it is challenging to keep up with all that is happening. Build UK is meeting regularly with MHCLG and the BSR, and Chief Executive Suzannah Nichol reiterated at a roundtable with MHCLG earlier this week the need for all parties to work together to successfully implement the new building safety regime.

   

New Fair Payment Code Goes Live

A new Fair Payment Code (FPC) has been launched by the Small Business Commissioner in place of the previous Prompt Payment Code to ‘award best practice and drive improvements in payment performance’. By signing up to the FPC, companies agree to be ‘clear, fair and collaborative’ with their suppliers and will be awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze status for a period of two years depending on the time taken to pay invoices:

  • Gold: 95% of invoices paid within 30 days
  • Silver: 95% of invoices to small businesses paid within 30 days and 95% of invoices to all other suppliers paid within 60 days
  • Bronze: 95% of invoices paid within 60 days.

To apply to the FPC, members should complete the expression of interest form and they will then receive an application form with guidance to support it.

Common Assessment Standard Update

Compliance Chain and Smas Worksafe have become new Recognised Assessment Bodies for the Common Assessment Standard as Build UK continues to support members to reduce bureaucracy in the pre‐qualification (PQ) process. With the data sharing solution enabling Contractors and Clients to obtain key PQ data from any Recognised Assessment Body, companies now have a choice of seven Recognised Assessment Bodies when seeking certification, minimising duplication across the industry. There are two levels of certification ‐ desktop and site‐based ‐ and companies can apply to any one of the Recognised Assessment Bodies for the appropriate level depending on their trade, size and the requirements of their clients. Compliance Chain and Smas Worksafe are both offering desktop certification only and their products are called ‘Compliance Chain ‐ Gold Supplier Membership’ and ‘Smas Worksafe Pro.

All Recognised Assessment Bodies are reviewed every year to ensure their competence, and the five existing ones ‐ Achilles, Constructionline, CQMS, SCCS and Veriforce CHAS ‐ have all successfully completed this process for another 12 months.

Get Britain Working

The Government has published a new white paper, supported by £240 million of investment, to reform the employment support system to get more people into work. New measures include a ‘Youth Guarantee’ to ensure every young person has access to education or training to help them find a job, reforming Jobcentres, and transforming the Apprenticeship Levy.

ISG Administration Update

The Joint Administrators’ proposals for the eight ISG subsidiaries that entered administration on 20 September have now been published by EY. The document provides an overview of the events that led to the administration, together with a final statement of affairs for each company. The eight subsidiaries jointly owed £1.1 billion, and EY has confirmed it will only recover £35 million from cash and assets, meaning that there is “insufficient property to enable a distribution to be made to unsecured creditors”.

With the support of members and the wider industry, Build UK has secured new roles in construction for all the apprentices and graduate trainees employed by ISG who requested support. It is a great example of what we can do when the industry works together and means these new entrants will carry on developing their skills and knowledge instead of leaving the sector.

 

FenceX 2025

🌟 The Countdown to FenceX 2025 is ON! 🌟

Mark your calendars for October 15th, 2025, and join us at NAEC Stoneleigh for the ultimate fencing industry event. This year, we’re going bigger and better than ever:

🔸 More stands packed with top-tier exhibitors
🔸 Destruction testing – pushing materials to their limits
🔸 Live gate automation demos – cutting-edge solutions in action
🔸 AFA/AFI Best Practice Day – practical insights, live and outdoors

Whether you’re here to connect, learn, or explore new innovations, FenceX 2025 has something for everyone. Don’t miss out!

👉 Visit www.fencex.co.uk for details!

 

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