In today’s construction news, read about the residential, energy, and utilities sectors, which are the primary focus of Labour’s manifesto, which aims to stimulate the UK’s construction output. On the other hand, businesses worldwide, operating in a diverse array of sectors, are increasingly seeking expert guidance from the United Kingdom on how to optimise their premises for accessibility.
Labour Suggests Expansion as UK Construction is Predicted to Decline
Original Source: Labour posits growth while UK construction is expected to slump
GlobalData predicts a 3% real-term contraction in the UK construction industry in 2024 and 1% in 2025 after an 86-seat Labour Party majority.
Rebounding depends on elections, high material costs, developing foreign trade agreements, and restrictive migration policy.
This sidelines housing while giving energy construction stakeholders attractive domestic chances.
UK 2024 election vote breakdown
Labour won 412 seats on July 4, 2024, exceeding the 326-seat majority.
The Conservatives lost 240 seats and 11 cabinet ministers, their worst performance ever.
See also: Friant-Kern Canal restoration project’s first phase completes.
MODA Clemson student housing construction in US
Reform UK, formerly the Brexit Party, received over four million votes, 14.3% of total voting, despite only four seats.
Under a Conservative government, 14 years of rising house prices, inconsistent inflation, and unstable migration have seen consumer confidence fall from 101.07 in 2010 to 99.24 in 2024, unrelated to housing output falling short of UK Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee targets year-on-year (YoY) since 2020, Brexit, Covid-19, and fractured global economy.
Since the Bank of England emphasises autonomy in contrast to Conservative fiscal policy, fixing interest rates at 4.6% did little to improve Conservative polling.
The government faces a battle as 80% of the UK public abstained/rejected voting for Labour, despite Labour leader Kier Starmer’s political victory.
The Labour manifesto includes measures to boost UK construction output in the residential, energy, and utility sectors.
In particular, investing £8.3bn ($10.62bn) to design Great British Energy and £6.6bn to implement new Warm Home Plans by 2028, creating 1.5 million new residential dwellings by 2029, and ‘doubling onshore wind, tripling solar electricity, and quadrupling offshore wind’ by 2030.
Labour will also accelerate 5G infrastructure, nuclear labs, and battery production for energy autonomy.
Thus, GlobalData estimates energy and utilities construction to expand 4.17% year between 2024 and 2028.
Due to an exhausted government budget, high construction material costs, and workforce instability, residential output is anticipated to fall 3.4% in 2024 and 5% in 2025.
Energy nationalisation is supported across Labour and right-wing ideologies.
Note: High material costs can hinder new project viability.
Though the UK Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy’s average construction material price index fell 1.9% in the first three months of 2024, prices remain high after increases in 2021 (15.2%), 2022 (19%), and 2023 (0.9%).
In 2023, residential building materials including pipes and fittings (22.3%), doors and windows (18.2%), and ready-mixed concrete (13.4%) increased significantly.
The value of new building orders given at current prices declined 1.3% YoY in Q1 2024, following 27.8% and 15.2% reductions in Q4 and Q3 2023.
In 2023, new orders declined 16% to £67.9bn from £80.8bn in 2022.
In contrast to Conservative fiscal policy, Starmer has advocated following UK Office for Budget Responsibility restrictions while keeping tax rates and ‘solving’ the £121bn budget deficit, which is 4.4% of GDP as of May.
Since its construction objectives are beyond existing fiscal capabilities, GlobalData predicts that a Labour administration will be forced to prioritise energy above housing.
Second, labour supply unpredictability impairs project planning and feasibility.
Following net immigration exceeding 685 million in 2023, Ipsos’ Issues Index ranks immigration as the top election issue behind the NHS and economy.
Non-UK workers make up 10% of UK construction industry employment as of 2022, indicating a decreasing workforce supply due to political consensus to curb immigration.
The degree and mechanism of UK immigration tightening is unclear due to Labour campaigning vaguely aware of its greater majority.
After Brexit, the UK Department of Business and Trade has set ambitious goals to expand free trade agreements (FTAs) with India, Vietnam, Mexico, Turkey, Samoa, Fiji, North Macedonia, Morocco, and Norway, having negotiated the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in July 2023.
These FTAs could boost UK building output if Labour can negotiate material pricing and set domestic migration limits.
Final Words
Labour earned an 86-seat majority due to declining consumer confidence after 14 years of Conservative rule.
Starmer believes the UK construction industry may thrive by focusing on residential, energy, and utilities, including nationalising energy through Great British Energy.
High material costs and workforce unpredictability hinder project feasibility.
GlobalData anticipates the UK construction industry to decrease by 3% in 2024 and 1% in 2025, although rising bilateral FTAs could boost output from 2026.
In the short term, excessive political promises and fiscal realities will hinder UK construction output.
UK is a Leader in Accessible Buildings
Original Source: UK leads the way in making premises accessible
About Access managing director Ian Streets says access specialists are in demand for their world-class knowledge and skills in making buildings accessible.
UK experts are increasingly advising businesses worldwide on how to make their properties accessible.
Multinationals growing or updating their operations and seeking consistency are driving demand.
Another factor is international tourism expansion. Even remote sites would attract more tourists if they make their facilities accessible. Leisure travellers travel the world for vacations.
Flexible access to buildings
We have built a bundle of services to fulfil the needs of our growing international client base over time. Like everything we do, the details change as requirements and circumstances change, but we are committed to helping clients make their goods and premises accessible.
Design appraisals, access audits, and training are our major foreign services. The major shift in recent years is that we are better at offering remote services since we couldn’t before.
We still offer remote services, which is important when time and budget are tight, but we prefer to finish assignments in person because a site visit always provides more accurate information than photos, videos, and written documentation.
UK access consultants are chosen because they are top-notch.
Designers and developers struggle to find abroad talent like us. They rarely have our experience because they don’t have as many chances to learn from daily exposure to the highest international standards.
Accessible globally
International organisations sometimes want a worldwide accessibility baseline. Our assistance depends on the customer and may include European, international, ADA, Singapore, or BS8300. Local codes and regulations must be followed, however if the code surpasses them, we provide advice.
Global brands spending extensively in retail, property, medicines, and leisure are our clientele. We visited indoor and outdoor tourism properties, including heritage sites, in Gibraltar and Ireland. We investigated Saudi Arabian schools and European and American offices, stores, and recreation facilities.
Design assessments examine a project’s accessibility from the start to make cost-effective changes.
We inspect and assess facilities for disabled safety, accessibility, and comfort via access audits.
We teach access audits, disability awareness, and user needs in-person and online.
Because understanding how it works is as important as following the guidelines, we delve beyond the fine print.
Everywhere we work, we consider local customs and culture. Only then can we grasp accessibility and its impact.
We can accurately predict and comprehend scenarios and repercussions. We respect and consider how cultural norms in an area affect a project and how they may be affected.
Some countries’ toilets are very different from ours. Other examples are quiet and baby rooms for new mothers. Some countries don’t recognise the necessity for these and the facilities they need.
A proactive accessibility strategy
Modern offices and shopping malls in the UK should include these features. We encourage people to design future buildings and other countries are catching up.
We help designers and developers predict consumer expectations and how changes affect them.
As businesses realise the benefits of diversity, more disabled persons should enter the workforce in high-value professions. They need an accessible workplace to do that.
This is related to worker impairments. If you make your premises accessible to disabled people now, they should be accessible to future disabled persons.
Countries that have not taken a proactive approach to accessibility are paying more attention now because investment raises the requirement to operate to the highest standards, including accessibility. They want consistency across their sites and to deal with providers who have benefited them before.
Take tourism. About every nation wants a bigger portion of the tourism business, but they must make their offer accessible. Some sites are worth visiting for the effort of getting there, thus their ability to do that relies on the location.
Historic elements make accessibility changes difficult at some sites.
International tourism is expanding, but only if it’s accessible.
Summary of today’s construction news
To sum it up, with 14 years of a Conservative rule and declining consumer confidence, Labour has secured an 86-seat majority. By concentrating on the residential, energy, and utility sectors—including nationalising energy through the establishment of Great British Energy—Starmer forecasts growth for the UK construction industry.
On the other hand, globally, nations that have not previously prioritised accessibility are increasingly giving it greater thought since increasing investment necessitates operating to the highest standards, which includes accessibility. They wish to collaborate with the providers who have previously assisted them in achieving consistency across all of their websites.
