Build UK’s update the industry amid the covid-19 outbreak 

The commitment from government to ‘Build Build Build’, following publication of the National Infrastructure and Construction Procurement Pipeline 2020/21, is welcome news for the industry, as the latest information from Build UK partner Builders' Conference underlines the significant ongoing impact of coronavirus on contracts and tender opportunities.

Pre-coronavirus between June 2019 and March 2020, the number of contracts awarded each month averaged 594. June 2020 saw 415 contracts awarded, which was an improvement on the 359 contracts awarded in May, but 30% below the average and 37% less than in June 2019.

 

The value of contracts awarded in June 2020 fell by 10% to £3.6bn, compared to May. This is 41% lower than the monthly average of £6.1bn between June 2019 and March 2020, and 33% below June 2019. As in May, almost half of all the contracts awarded were housing projects (193 projects with a combined value of £1.6bn). There were then 37 office projects worth £571m and 56 education projects with a total value of £338m.

 

There was a decrease of 24% in the number of tender opportunities, down from 346 in May 2020 to 264 in June 2020. This is 62% below the monthly average of 687 projects available for tender between June 2019 and March 2020 and 70% lower than June 2019.

At present, there are just 205 tender opportunities available until the end of September 2020 according to Builders’ Conference.

The Department for Transport has confirmed that as of 10 July people arriving in England from countries with travel corridor exemption will no longer need to self-isolate for 14 days, unless they have been in or transited through non-exempt countries in the preceding 14 days.

HS2 is running weekly webinars for potential suppliers to provide advice on a range of themes, including bidding, sustainability, and equality, diversity and inclusion. Companies can register for the webinars which are running until mid-August and view recordings on the HS2 website.

Businesses should continue to follow the most up-to-date government guidance and for the latest updates please follow Build UK on Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have any construction-specific queries or feedback on what is happening within the industry, please contact Build UK. 

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