The Local Government Association has called on government to launch an “urgent and immediate” review of building regulations in the wake of the Grenfell Tower catastrophe.

Lord Porter, LGA Chairman, said: “Following on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, we want the Government to begin an urgent and immediate review of building regulations. We cannot wait for the result of the public inquiry or coroner’s report before this review is started. We have to act based on what we know now, while being prepared to revisit the building regulations again in the future if any additional lessons need to be learned.

“There is complexity and confusion in the current system that must be addressed and local government must play a central role in this review from the outset. The review needs to consider how easy it is to use, comply with and understand the building regulations and the associated documents supporting them, particularly those relating to the installation of cladding and insulation on external walls of buildings and how the building control, fire safety and planning regimes interact.

No time to wait

“Councils will do whatever it takes to ensure our residents are all safe in their homes. We have been clear all along that entire cladding panels and the insulation behind them need to be fire tested together as a system, rather than just the core of the panels on their own, and are also pleased these much-needed changes to the testing process will now happen. It is vital that we get this right and this whole-system testing needs to happen as soon as possible.

Lord Porter also urged that testing processes need to be more transparent. He said: “We are concerned that the Building Research Establishment (BRE), carrying out safety tests, does not feel able to release the results of previous cladding system tests, as these are deemed commercially confidential. If the public are going to have faith in this fire safety testing process then everything needs to be out in the open. It is no time for contractors or manufacturers to withhold test results from both councils and the public.

“The industry and BRE needs to waive this confidentiality in the public interest to assist the Government and councils in gathering as complete a picture as possible of what is and is not acceptable in cladding systems. These are exceptional circumstances when not only the safety of thousands of residents, but also the peace of mind of many more, is at stake.”

Women Count 2017, the second annual report by the Pipeline, has tracked and analysed the number of women on Executive Committees of FTSE 350 companies and has found that progress on gender diversity in senior roles has regressed.

With only 16% of members on Executive Committees being women, the same percentage as 2016, there has been no progress. Also, more companies have no women on their Executive committees and have no women executives holding roles with profit and loss (P&L) responsibility than in 2016.

The Pipeline, looked at construction companies in the FTSE 350 and found there is much work to be done:

• Just 6% of construction companies in the FTSE 350 have Executive Committees which are at least 25% female, which is nineteen points below the average.
• Construction companies are below average in the proportion of women executives that operate in P&L roles (27% compared to 35% across the FTSE 350).
• The construction sector is slightly above average in terms of women executives that sit on main plc boards (22% compared to 16% across the FTSE 350)

Electricity, Oil, Gas, Steam, Waste and Water appeared in the top quartile for companies with at least 25% women on Executive Committees, proportion of women executives in P&L roles and companies with women executives on main plc boards. Although this is based on a low baseline (ie disappointing numbers of women in senior roles) it does show that companies, where STEM based skills are important to their business, are making progress. This shows it is possible for construction companies, who also recruit employees with STEM based skills, to make the right interventions to achieve higher numbers of women in senior roles.

Analysis from Women Count 2017 also showed the demonstrable economic benefits for companies who have women in more senior roles. Net profit margins almost double in companies with at least 25% females on their Executive committee compared to those with none.

• If all FTSE 350 companies performed at the same level as those with at least 25% females on their Executive Committee, the impact could be a £5bn gender dividend for Corporate UK
• Companies with a female CEO have, on average, almost twice the number of women on Executive Committees than those run by men and more than three times the number of female executives in P&L roles than those led by men

Commenting on the findings, Donald Brydon, Chairman of the London Stock Exchange Group said: “Women Count 2017 continues to confirm that FTSE 350 companies with 25% or more women on their Executive Committees perform better financially. It is therefore concerning that the percentage of women on Executive Committees has stagnated at 16% for the second year. It is clear that companies will have to do more systematically to meet the Government’s target of 33% by 2020.”

Lorna Fitzsimons, Co-founder of The Pipeline said: “This report is ringing a very loud alarm bell for business. With agendas dominated by Brexit, the focus on gender diversity at senior levels has been slipping.  Women Count shows there is an increase in profit for companies who have over 25% women on their Executive Committees. In this post Brexit era can this return be ignored by construction companies?

“This is a wake-up call for everyone who supports the Hampton-Alexander recommendation to Government to achieve 33% representation of women on FTSE 100 executive committees and their direct reports by 2020. This target is in danger of being missed. Businesses and Government need to renew their drive and be relentless to achieve this goal.

“This is not an equality issue. This is an economic issue and there are signs we are starting to slip back. This report should serve as a call to arms for us all.”

Home owners should book in their builder at least four months before their project begins or risk working with a cowboy, new research from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has revealed.

The research also shows that many consumers don’t ask their builders for essentials such as a contract or references when embarking upon a major piece of building work.

Key statistics from the research show:

• More than 40% of builders need at least four months’ notice from consumers who want to hire their firm
• 90% of builders say that the majority of home owners do not ask for a written contract
• 80% of builders report that most consumers do not ask for an agreed payment schedule

Fewer than 10% of builders say that clients normally request to see vital insurance policies such as public liability or employer’s liability insurance

If a builder is free to start work tomorrow, alarm bells should ring. Demand for building work is incredibly high at the moment and it should be no surprise that almost one in two builders need to be contacted at least four months in advance

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “If a builder is free to start work tomorrow, alarm bells should ring. Demand for building work is incredibly high at the moment and it should be no surprise that almost one in two builders need to be contacted at least four months in advance of when a client is looking to start a home improvement project.

“The workloads of builders have been rising steadily over the past two years and there’s no shortage of work. That’s why we’re urging home owners who are keen to crack on with their build or renovation projects to start getting in touch with prospective builders as soon as possible. Otherwise, they risk disappointment delaying their projects or worse still, working with a dodgy builder. So many building horror stories start with a client approaching a builder who’s free to start work sooner than the more professional builder who is really busy.”

Berry concluded: “There are also indications that home owners are leaving themselves vulnerable to problems in terms of how they approach their building work. The vast majority of builders say that most clients fail to ask for references and even fewer ask for a written contract on their work. There is a similar trend when it comes to asking for critical things like an agreed payment schedule and key warranties on work, as well as checking whether the builder has any external accreditation or recognition from professional trade association like the FMB. These protections really are essential to helping clients weed out the cowboys and mitigate against any issues that could crop up during the build. A quality builder will insist on these things and if they don’t, consumers ought to question why.”

A self-appointed Essex tax adviser, who instructed his clients on how to fraudulently claim £1.5m in tax repayments, has been jailed for five years.

Former bricklayer Jeffrey Bakewell (69), of Cedar Avenue, Wickford, set himself up as a tax adviser and an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs revealed he kept around £300,000 from his clients’ false claims.

Bakewell’s clients were mainly crane drivers but also included builders and other construction industry workers.

They made claims for travel and subsistence payments but HMRC investigators found these had been covered by their employers.

A total of £1,507,965 was paid to Bakewell between 2009 and 2015. He kept £301,897 and used it to finance his gambling while the rest went to his clients.

Bakewell failed to register as a tax agent with HMRC as legally required, did not complete due diligence checks on his clients and failed to keep the records required by the Money Laundering Regulations.

Paul Barton, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “Bakewell had no financial qualifications and set himself up solely to advise people on fraud.

He charged for advice on how to steal money from our vital public services but his appalling conduct has now put him behind bars.

“We will not allow criminals to attack the tax system and cheat the honest majority. Anyone helping tax fraudsters can expect to end up in court.

We ask anyone with information about suspected tax fraud to contact our Fraud Hotline on 0800 788 887.”

Bakewell admitted tax fraud and was jailed for five years at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday (26 June).

Confiscation proceedings to recover the money he stole have begun.

Money is being recovered from Bakewell’s clients for the false repayments by civil means.

Balfour Beatty believes the construction site of 2050 will be in stark contrast to what we see today – predicting it will be human-free with work moved off-site, remote control of machinery and new materials and techniques exploited to improve cost, safety and efficiency.

The international infrastructure group has laid out its vision in its paper “Innovation 2050: A Digital Future for the Infrastructure Industry”.

While Balfour Beatty’s prediction for a human-free construction site may seem far-fetched, technology has already revolutionised contemporary life to such an extent that it’s not so hard to imagine radical changes for construction not least the emergence of new roles and the requirement and evolution of new skills to support delivery of the future pipeline of construction projects.

In its latest paper Balfour Beatty sets out to examine the pace and rate of change within the industry, with digital technology the catalyst and driver to such change; change that is already happening and is inevitable.

In Balfour’s vision of the future they see robots working in teams to build complex structures faster and safer using dynamic new materials as elements of the build self assemble.

In Balfour’s vision of the future they see robots working in teams to build complex structures faster and safer using dynamic new materials as elements of the build self assemble. Drones will fly overhead scanning the site, inspecting the work and using that data collected to solve problems before they arise sending instructions to robotic cranes, diggers and builders.

Balfour suggests humans will simply manage multiple projects remotely accessing 3D and 4D visuals from data and onsite machines. Any humans found on site will wear robotically enhanced exoskeletons and use neural control technology to operate machinery reducing health and injury risk and enhancing productivity.

2050 is only 32 years away. 32 years ago a mobile telephone was an exclusive, expensive brick on which you could only make calls – now 75% of the world’s population has a smart phone.

To read the paper in full, click here and get involved in the conversation using #expertengineers.Or tune in to hear a quick audio overview of the paper here.