Frameworks
Helping to shape public sector construction Towards the end of last year, the government awarded a major new procurement agreement which will help shape public sector construction - Construction Works and Associated Services In the March Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak promised to raise infrastructure spending to its highest in decades, with the Treasury pledging to triple the average net investment made over the last 40 years into rail and road, affordable housing, broadband and research, leading to the ‘highest levels of investment in real terms since 1955 - more than £600 billion over the five-year Parliament. The day following the Budget, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick set out proposals to bring Britain’s planning system into the 21st century as part of plans to get the country building. As such, councils will be encouraged to take a more innovative approach to home building by ensuring redevelopment of high streets is housing-led, building upwards and above and around stations. From April, the government will launch a register of brownfield sites which will map out unused land as part of plans to encourage councils to make the most of this land first – backed by £400 million to bring this mostly unused land back to use. The government will also review how places assess how many homes are needed in their area and incentivise those that deliver on those numbers.
All local authorities will be required to have up-to-date Local Plans in place by December 2023, or see government intervention, so enough homes are built for their communities. This follows the announcement of £12 billion of investment to build more affordable homes – the biggest cash investment in affordable housing for a decade.
that construction work can continue so long as people are two metres apart. However, the decision has labelled as prioritising the economy over public health, with Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, telling the BBC that the decision to allow non-essential work appeared to have been made for ‘economic reasons’ and argued that ‘health reasons alone Construction and really should be guiding Some coronavirus all decision-making’. builder However, not all has Some builders s and constru been positive for and construction c the construction workers have have sa tion workers i industry. Since said they feel d t hey fee ‘unprot the outbreak of ‘unprotected’ l e c t e work a coronavirus, many going to work, mid thed’ going to have been calling while others are corona outbrea v i k r for clarification on under pressure u , s w hi are und the role and status from employers er pressle others of construction to go in. employ ure from workers, especially ers to given their omission Helping the go in from the government’s country to key workers list. Health build more Secretary Matt Hancock has All public sector bodies can said that those who cannot do use Crown Commercial Service’s their jobs from home should go to work Construction Works and Associated Services to ‘keep the country running’, highlighting agreement to find companies to help E Issue 27.2 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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