The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has published a statement from CEO of the Builders Merchants Federation, John Newcomb, and CEO of the Construction Products Association, Peter Caplehorn, providing an update from the Material Supply Chain Group (MSCG), after the first quarter of 2024. Overall, the MSCG has found good levels of product availability across the board, with overall construction activity trending upward in January and February. Prices generally have increased by 3–4%, and previous concerns about transportation via the Red Sea seem to have reduced. The availability of skilled labour was highlighted as the most pressing concern for the construction sector, and these issues have been shared with the CLC’s People & Skills Group.

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has published a statement detailing the impacts of the government’s planned steel tariffs and quotas, which are set to take effect on 1 July 2026. The statement notes cost increases of 14–18% on live projects and per-unit rises of up to £4,000 on residential developments. The CLC’s Industry Working Group has engaged with ministerial authorities and the Department for Business and Trade and it proposes that fabricated and semi-finished steelwork be included in the framework, the product categorisation be revised to reflect domestic manufacturing capacity and the review period be shortened from 12 to 6 months.

The Construction Leadership Council's (CLC) Material Supply Chain Group ('the group') has released a statement reporting expected construction product price increases of 2-8% for the year of 2025, with energy-intensive products facing the highest rises. The group has noted that while material supply remains stable, construction activity contracted in early 2025, particularly in residential building and civil engineering sectors. The statement also highlighted uncertainty regarding UK-American steel tariff negotiations and advised early communication with suppliers for production planning. In light of these developments, builders’ merchants are strategically preparing to ensure adequate stock levels to meet potential demand. The group has strongly advised that industry stakeholders maintain close collaboration with their supply chains, providing early and accurate forecasts to suppliers, distributors, and builders' merchants. This proactive approach is necessary for efficient production planning and timely delivery, helping to mitigate potential disruptions in the material supply chain.

The Construction Leadership Council's (CLC) Material Supply Chain Group ('the group') has reported that while material availability remains generally stable, new US 25% steel tariffs are affecting UK exports. The statement notes implemented price increases of 3-7% across most materials, with PIR insulation rising 10%. The report highlights the UK government's intervention in British Steel operations and warns of potential market volatility due to US trade policies. The Group advises construction firms to strengthen supply chain collaboration and early planning to manage emerging risks.

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC)’s Standards and Regulatory Alignment Group have published an initial response to the Independent Review of the Construction Product Testing Regime – Testing for A Safer Future, led by Paul Morrell OBE and Anneliese Day KC. The review sought to identify potential weaknesses in the system and make recommendations for improvement. The CLC’s response included an analysis of the recommendations and detailed actions for the government, industry and all parties to implement.

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has announced that it will be taking charge of the Product Platform Rulebook in 2024 which will be amended and re-released as the new ‘Platform Playbook’, providing details for the implementation of platform approaches for social infrastructure delivery. The Platform playbook is set to be published for comment in November 2024. The former Hub programme lead and now Chief Engineer for Construction at the Manufacturing Technology Centre, Steven Yeomans, has welcomed the transition, stating: ‘we’ll continue to support this ongoing, transformative work through our participation in the CLC’s Industrialised Construction workstream. In doing so, we can enable the construction sector to address performance and productivity challenges.’

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) welcomes the Homes for Nature initiative, which was launched by the Future Homes Hub. The initiative commits to the installation of bird-nesting bricks or boxes for every new home built, and hedgehog highways for every new development taken through planning. 21 homebuilders have signed up for this voluntary commitment. The scheme will come into effect in September 2024 for all new planning applications and will run until at least 2030. Annual reporting will track progress and identify additional measures that could be implemented to support other wildlife.

The Industry Safety Steering Group (ISSG) has published its fourth report on the progress in encouraging culture change among groups within the built environment sector. The report indicates that the built environment industry must be proactive in response to the reforms required to embed Building Safety, stating that industry and those who create building safety risks are best placed to manage and control them. While some organisations rely on government and regulatory guidance to notice errors, others are showing leadership in this area, and the report notes that they must be acknowledged and supported for this initiative. The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has welcomed the report and recognised the ongoing challenges to industry outlined by the report. The CLC noted that responsibility now rests on the wider built environment sector to change the culture surrounding building safety, to ensure that all buildings are safe for those who live and work in them.

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has published its construction update for Quarter 2 of 2024, covering April to June 2024. In Quarter 2 of 2024, output volume is estimated to have decreased by 0.1%, attributed to a decrease in new work (0.5%), as there was an increase in repair and maintenance (0.4%). The monthly construction output for June 2024 is estimated to have increased by 0.5%, resulting from increases in new work (0.9%), and repair and maintenance (0.1%). At the sectoral level, seven out of the nine sectors saw growth in June 2024. The main contributors to this increase were non-housing repair and maintenance (3.2%) and private commercial new work (2.1%). Total new construction orders also grew by 16.5% in Quarter 2, resulting from increases in private commercial new work (15.1%) and infrastructure new work (23.4%). The annual rate of construction output prices increased by 1.9% in the 12 months leading up to June 2024.

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has published a material supply chain group statement from the CEO of the Builders and Merchants Federation, John Newcomb, and the CEO of the Construction Products Association, Peter Caplehorn, who co-chairs the CLC’s Material Supply Chain Group (formerly Product Availability Group). According to Newcomb and Caplehorn, the latest report from the CLC's Material Supply Chain Group continues to indicate good levels of product availability. They also highlight that prices remain relatively stable, with the level of any increase mostly low and manageable.

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has published its monthly construction update, with monthly output volume estimated to have decreased by 0.4% in July 2024. This was attributed to decreases in both new work (0.2% decrease) and repair and maintenance (0.7% decrease). At the sectoral level, monthly output decreased in five out of the nine sectors. The main contributors to this decrease were total private commercial new work (2.4% decrease) and private housing repair and maintenance (1.7% decrease). Construction output is estimated to have increased by 1.2% in the three months leading to July 2024, resulting from increases in both new work (1.6% increase) and repair and maintenance (0.8% increase).

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has announced that in November 2023, construction output decreased by 0.2% in volume terms, which followed an upwardly revised decrease of 0.4% in October, with the monthly value in level terms in November 2023 at £15,571,000. The CLC also noted that construction output decreased by 0.6% in the three months to November 2023, which was solely as a result of a depreciation in new work (3.6% fall) because repair and maintenance increased by 3.8%