Weekly highlights

Weekly highlights

Each week the Construction team compiles a round-up of highlights from the world of construction

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Latest Construction News

ONS announces 1.2% increase in construction output for Q2 2025

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published data indicating a 1.2% increase in total construction output for Q2 2025. This was attributed to growth in new work (1.1%) and repair and maintenance (1.4%). In June 2025, construction output is estimated to have increased by 0.3%. This was attributed to a 1.2% increase in repair and maintenance, as new work decreased by 0.4%. At the sectoral level, five out of nine sectors saw growth in June 2025, with the main contributors being non-housing repair and maintenance, which grew by 0.8%, and private housing repair and maintenance, which grew by 3.7%. Total construction new orders declined by 8.3% (£976m) in Q2 2025 compared to Q1 2025. This decrease was mainly driven by infrastructure new work and private commercial new work.

Construction weekly highlights—14 August 2025

This week's edition of Construction weekly highlights includes a guide to the Employer’s power to instruct under the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) Design & Build Contract, a guide to the draft Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations, supplementary guidance on enforcing the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Scottish Government’s publication of the next phase of its cladding remediation plan and publication of its review of building standards verification frameworks, the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and other construction industry bodies’ publication of their 'Guide to Products Critical to Safe Construction', and a Court of Appeal decision affirming the exclusive supervisory jurisdiction of an arbitration tribunal (Star Hydrop Power v National Transmission).

Home Office and MHCLG publish updated FSO enforcement guidance

The Home Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have published a supplementary guidance on enforcing the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO). The guidance reflects legislative changes introduced between 2021–2023 through the Fire Safety Act 2021 (FSA 2021) and section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022). The guidance explains the requirements for Responsible Persons to comprehensively document fire risk assessments and safety arrangements, furnish safety information to residents and collaborate with other Responsible Persons and Accountable Persons. Additionally, the guidance clarifies the application of FSO in multi-residential buildings, discusses the removal of the £1,000 cap on certain fines, and explains the revised status of Article 50 guidance for compliance purposes.

The Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations—a quick guide

Construction analysis: The government laid the draft Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations before parliament on 10 July 2025. The draft regulations, made using powers conferred by the Building Safety Act 2022, propose the introduction of a levy on certain new residential developments. The proceeds will contribute to the costs of remediating building safety defects in England. The regulations prescribe the circumstances in which liability to pay the levy arises, who is liable to pay it, and how it will be calculated. In this article, we set out the context for these regulations, and summarise their key features.