Overview
The
UK construction industry provides a tenth of the UK's gross domestic
product, & employs 1.4 million people. UK designers, civil
engineers, contractors & component & product manufacturers have
a worldwide reputation for working overseas. The UK construction
industry is one of the strongest in the world, with output ranked in the
global top ten. With the increase in private finance to public sector
projects, British consultants & contractors are well positioned to
offer skills & experience in PFI projects & can also provide
high-tech solutions to environmental, transport & building projects.
Latest news in construction sector:
16/01/06 - Analysis of
"Improving payment practices in the construction industry"
Government
Relations with the Construction Sector
Construction
Sector Unit
DTI is
the main government partner with the construction industry. DTI’s
Construction Sector Unit (CSU) takes the lead in central government in
relations with the Construction Sector. CSU's objective is to secure an
efficient market in the construction industry, with innovative &
successful UK firms that meet the needs of clients & society, &
that are competitive at home & abroad. In common with all DTI
Business Relations units, CSU’s vision is to make a difference through
partnership with business by:
- Building
confident & open relations with key companies &
organisations
- Developing
high quality analysis & understanding
- Challenging
& helping companies to improve their performance
- Championing
companies' legitimate interests in government & elsewhere.
Two other DTI Business
Relations units, Automotive
& Materials
& Engineering work with some sub-sectors of the construction
industry. For more see
the Construction Sector
Unit
Construction
Legislation
The
Building Regulations division at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
(ODPM) provides guidance on the Building Regulations & controls in
England & Wales. Building Regulations ensure the health & safety
of people in & around buildings by providing functional requirements
for building design & construction. The regulations also promote
energy efficiency in buildings & contribute to meeting the needs of
disabled people.
UK
Trade & Investment
UK Trade & Investment is the government organisation (jointly run by
DTI & the Foreign & Commonwealth Office) that supports British
trade & investment overseas. Sector & country specific export
help for Building, Construction & Property industries can be found
on their website.
Housing
ODPM’s
Housing objective is for everyone to have the opportunity of a decent
home, & so promote social cohesion, wellbeing & self-dependence.
Action they are taking includes increasing provision of affordable
housing in areas of high demand & addressing problems of low demand
& abandonment.
Planning
ODPM’s
Planning Directorate is responsible for planning guidance, research,
statistics & reform of the planning system.
Sustainable
Communities
ODPM’s
Sustainable Communities Plan aims to provide communities that are
sustainable, including homes for key workers, regenerate towns &
cities, & provision of parks.
Urban
Policy
ODPM’s lead on Urban Policy drives forward the
sustainable communities' agenda. They work across Government to deliver
better towns & cities, more land for housing & sustainable
development, better places & buildings & to improve the
prosperity of regions.
Property
& Construction at the Office of Government Commerce
The
office of Government Commerce (OGC) works with departments, agencies
& non-departmental public bodies to provide leadership &
procurement support on all aspects of property, construction &
workspace activities.
Schemes
and Initiatives
Construction
specific
Constructing
Excellence
Rethinking
Construction is the name of a report & major industry-led initiative
to improve construction industry performance. The Strategic Forum for
Construction, chaired
by Peter Rogers, oversees the
initiative. Constructing
Excellence
brings together the Rethinking Construction agenda & the
Construction Best Practice Programme under one banner to deliver
construction industry reform. It is a first point of contact for
information & activities on construction improvement techniques. Its
remit is to continue implementing the Rethinking Construction initiative
through a well-developed network of best practice clubs &
demonstration projects across England & Wales. The
initiative also recognises sustainable
construction as a cross-cutting theme.
TrustMark
The new initiative for the domestic repair, maintenance and
improvement sector.
Constructionline
Constructionline is the UK's largest register of pre-qualified
construction contractors/consultants & is designed to make the
procurement process more efficient for both clients &
contractors/consultants. Constructionline's 1400+ clients have direct
access to the database.
Partners
in Innovation
Partners
in Innovation was a collaborative scheme match-funding construction
research & innovation projects. The scheme is closed. Archival
details can be found at www.constructionresearch.info
& Construction
Sector Unit
General
Business Support
DTI
For Business
DTI for Business has links to DTI & other government support schemes
& initiatives.
Small
Business Service
The Small Business Service operates schemes & initiatives to help
SMEs.
Companies
House
Companies House provides comprehensive listings of government &
professional body websites that provide guidance & support to UK
companies.
Links
This
selection of organisations can offer assistance to organisations in the
construction sector. An extensive list of trade associations is
available from the Trade
Association Forum website.
British
Constructional Steelwork Association
Tel. 02078398566
Chartered
Institute of Building
Tel. 01344630700
Chartered
Institute of Building Services Engineers
Tel. 02086755211
Construction
Equipment Association
Tel. 01883334499
Construction
Industry Council
Tel. 02076378692
Construction
Products Association
Tel. 02073233770
Federation
of Environmental Trade Associations
Tel. 01491578674
Institution
of Civil Engineers
Tel. 02072227722
Institution
of Structural Engineers
Tel. 02072354535
Royal
Institute of British Architects
Tel. 02075805533
Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Tel. 08703331600
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