All Leader articles – Page 35
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CommentSomething has to be done
Nine out of 10 sites are delayed by the apparent inability of gas, electricity and water suppliers to do what they’re in business to. They can take six months to produce a simple quote. They can charge you £4,000 before they begin to think about putting in a water mains.
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CommentSave our college
Plonked in the middle of Norfolk, a few miles from the Queen’s Sandringham estate, CITB–ConstructionSkills’ National Construction College can seem removed from the bang and bustle of the industry at work.
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CommentLast things first
He could make CSCS cards mandatory on government contracts, equalise VAT on new build and refurbishment, or even speed up planning … in fact, there’s no shortage of the things the industry would like Tony Blair to cross off his to-do list before he leaves office.
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CommentFriends at last
“In love” would be too strong a term for it. But the City is certainly feeling warm and cuddly towards contracting, a sector it has traditionally treated with frigid indifference.
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CommentLife in the inbetween
Whether you think its right or wrong, Tony Blair’s impending eviction from Downing Street is going to have repercussions for the industry.
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CommentThe mother of all contract wins
Congratulations to the CLM consortium of Mace, Laing O’Rourke, and the American engineer CH2M, aided by Davis Langdon, which this week won the race to become the delivery partner for the 2012 Olympics.
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CommentWhat the Poles have done for us
A construction industry without foreign labour is about as viable as a fish on a skiing holiday. So in the midst of the political hoo-ha over immigration, one thing is clear.
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CommentA suitable case for treatment
There is growing evidence that the industry requires help in managing the welfare of its workforce. Constructing Better Health, a pilot scheme carried out in Leicester over the past 18 months, screened more than 2000 workers.
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CommentWho should win the Olympics?
It is arguably one of the most important and prestigious construction contracts ever to have been tendered in the UK.
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CommentThe death of injustice
The introduction of the corporate manslaughter law edged a great deal closer this week. Although it has been dividing the industry over its merits and worth – and will no doubt continue to do so – on balance we should be welcoming rather than fearing it.
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CommentThat dizzy feeling
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread – this is perhaps the phrase that best describes the government’s current approach to housing policy.
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CommentThank heavens for the Olympics
It’s been a devil of a week on the playing fields. The English cricket team was whitewashed by Sri Lanka, all the Brits crashed out of Wimbledon and the football team … well let’s not go there.
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CommentA tale of two campaigns
The government is to be given credit for answering the cries for help from industry over the Building Regulations. In our Reform the Regs campaign, we called on the government to work with industry to make the existing regulations coherent, to make new regulations transparent and to put up a ...
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CommentTalking about an evolution
It was with glorious confidence and lofty ambition that The Builder first appeared in 1843. Its aim was to be a magazine for everyone connected with making buildings.
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CommentNot bad for government work
We've become so drenched by the shower of initiatives and targets emitted by New Labour that when a truly significant idea comes along, it doesn't always register.
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CommentThe bitter taste of success
Multiplex's victory over its steelwork contractor on Wembley stadium has left a nasty taste in the mouth.