The month...

Is the BBC series Rogue Traders good or bad for reputable builders? It’s hard to say.

On one hand it does reinforce the message that homeowners shouldn’t employ any Tom, Dick or Harry to do their building work. On the other, it encourages the idea of cowboy builders, a tarnished reputation that tends to cling to anyone who calls themselves a builder, however morally proper they may be.

The new series of Rogue Traders (Wednesdays, 8:30pm) started last month. It is rather a strange show, involving two leather-clad presenters on a motorbike delivering some pretty dodgy lines while tracking down dodgy dealers. The first programme showed the duo on the trail of illegal fly-tippers, who apparently cost UK councils £50m last year.

Using smart water (which shows up under a special light) and trackers, presenters Matt Allwright and Dan Penteado (pictured above) were able to discover where two loads of rubbish, which had been picked up by waste disposal firms and supposedly disposed of legally, ended up. One lot, in Kent, was left strewn over a country road at night. The other, in Cardiff, ended up dumped in a back street in the city centre. On being accosted, one wrongdoer sprinted off, while the other declared darkly: ‘If I see you on your own, I’ll leave you a write-off.’

Equally disturbing is Allwright’s new alter ego for this series a non-specific Eastern European worker called Jimmy.

... in numbers

12 The number of months Multiplex stayed out of the UK contracting market following the beating it took at Wembley Stadium. .

100 The amount, in pounds, you will now be fined for getting CIS tax returns in late to HM Revenue & Customs.

120 The number of minutes that passed after construction’s latest safety forum in London before there was a serious accident on a site in the capital.

50,000 the number of additional affordable homes London Mayor Ken Livingstone has promised to get built across the capital in the next three years.

125,000 The fine, in pounds, given to glazing firm Permasteelisa after a worker was crushed to death by a huge pane of glass.

17.5m The amount, in pounds, that former Cowlin chief executive Nick Higgs walked away with after Balfour Beatty bought the company for £52m.

992m The amount of extra cash Metronet is claiming for work it carried out on its London Underground PPP contract.

3.25bn The amount held back in retentions cash at any time in the industry. The National Specialist Contractors Council has launched a Fair Payment Campaign to attempt to improve the system.

... in words

There’s a huge disconnection between the crisis in the City and the housing market. Berkeley Group MD Tony Pidgley remains optimistic

Under the previous management model there was no incentive for principal contractors to innovate. Tube Lines central London area manager Phil King.

Opposite my house a local builder and three men were working dangerously. When I had a word with them I was told to ‘go away’. Construction Manager reader and engineer Philip Cutts discovers the problems of safety intervention. Letters.