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Developments – Archive

An archive of Covid-19 weekly developments

Summary w/c 25 May

  • Total construction output in Great Britain is expected to fall by 25% during 2020, according to the Construction Products Association. The anticipated decline in output is one of three scenarios for construction output examined by the CPA
  • Barbour ABI Weekly Covid Briefing – This week has seen a relatively small increase in open projects and a fall in delayed projects. Total open projects have increased in number by 120 and in value by £1.9bn. There are around 2,150 open projects with a value of £77bn (£54bn excluding Hinkley Point). Almost all the increase has been in the residential sector.

Summary w/c 18 May

  • Build UK Coronavirus Update 21 May Includes some excellent examples of Main Contractor safe operating procedures
  • The Future Fund will provide UK Government loans to UK-based companies ranging from £125,000 to £5 million, subject to at least equal match funding from private investors. The fund will be open for applications from Wednesday 20 May 2020. These convertible loans may be a suitable option for businesses that typically rely on equity investment and are unable to access other government business support programmes because they are either pre-revenue or pre-profit.
  • From Tuesday 26 May 2020, small and medium-sized employers, with fewer than 250 employees, will be able to apply to recover the costs of paying coronavirus-related Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) payments they have made to their employees. Employers will be able to make claims to the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme through a new online service. Employers will receive repayments at the relevant rate of SSP that they have paid to current or former employees for eligible periods of sickness starting on or after 13 March 2020.
  • The Department for International Trade are running a series of webinars to help businesses through coronavirus: 
  • Site Operating Procedures v.4 dated 18 May 2020. The relatively minor updates are confirmed as:
    • Removal of the requirement for face to face contact to be kept to 15 minutes or less
    • The section on PPE now links to the latest Government guidance on face coverings
    • References to one-way systems and the reconfiguration of seating and tables and an update on portable toilets
    • The requirement to share risk assessments with the workforce
    • Clarification on when to travel to work, as set out in the Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Strategy
    • Updated links and wording on social distancing.
  • Build UK Coronavirus Update 18 May: The update contains a couple of key points:
    • In the preceding six weeks of the lockdown there was an average of 122 contract awards each week, whilst the first and second weeks of May saw just 66 and 94 contracts awarded respectively. The value of contracts awarded fell from an average of £2.08 billion per week to just £0.3 billion in the first week of May, and £1.43 billion in the second.
    • The Site Operating Procedures are currently under review following publication of the Government guidance on Working Safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19). There is no longer any reference to face to face contact being 15 minutes or less in the latest guidance, which supersedes previous Government guidance. The Prime Minister has asked that employers maintain the discipline of social distancing and hand washing to avoid a second peak of infection.

w/c 11 May

  • Latest Barbour Weekly Report – 15 May 2020 Focusing on projects restarted
  • New COVID-19 – Site safety checklists, risk assessment tool and toolbox talk available from the CITB – Information has been produced in collaboration with the Construction Leadership Council and supported by Build UK.  The checklist and forms aim to help ensure site operating procedures during COVID-19 are clear and accessible to employees

COVID-19 – Site operating procedures compliance checklist

COVID-19 – Health safety and environment risk assessment template

COVID-19 – A toolbox talk for construction workers

COVID-19 – Weekly site operating procedures checklist

w/c 4 May 2020

w/c 27 April 2020

  • Build UK Coronavirus Newsletter 1 May It highlights problems around PPE/Social Distancing and transport for site workers. It also notes that the Construction Leadership Council are looking to develop a ‘Roadmap to Recovery’ for the industry. Issues discussed include accelerating public sector projects and delaying implementation of Reverse VAT. Liz Bridge, Secretary of the Joint Taxation Committee will be joining a CAB Forum in June (to be launched shortly) to discuss Reverse VAT and changes to IR35.
  • Guide to Conflict Avoidance and Dispute Resolution for the Construction and Engineering Industry. This guide has been produced by RICS, ICE, RIBA, CIArb and DRBF and is endorsed by the Construction Leadership Council. It summarises the major benefits of five techniques for avoiding conflict and resolving disputes early, which are endorsed by the organisations. It provides details on how each of these techniques operates in practice, and explains how these independent conflict avoidance and early intervention services can be accessed.
  • Coronavirus testing: The Government has extended the criteria under which people in England can receive testing for Coronavirus to include those who cannot work from home but are showing symptoms. This widening will now mean that construction workers that show symptoms would be able to get tested. Details of how to apply for testing can be found here.
  • Build UK Contractor membersare reporting that almost 70% of their sites are open in England and Wales. The majority are construction (81%) and infrastructure (78%) sites, with members that include housing in their portfolios confirming that less than half of their housing sites (46%) are open for business. Productivity on construction and infrastructure sites is averaging 67%, with London construction sites proving to be a particular challenge at just 56% output being achieved.
  • The new Bounce Back Loans scheme, announced by the Chancellor, will allow businesses to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 and access the cash within days. Loans will be interest free for the first 12 months, and from Monday 4 May, businesses can apply online through a short and simple form. The scheme will launch for applications on Monday 4 May.
  • A how to guide for reopening your workplace v.1.0 An interesting and very thorough guide by Cushman & Wakefield (one of the world’s largest real estate services firms) on some of the outline thinking and practices they have implemented across the globe in response to Covid-19 (including China).

w/c 20 April 2020

w/c 13 April