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Apprenticeship starts are falling because of the Apprenticeship Levy, which needs to be made more flexible, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). The FMB’s reaction is in response to statistics published in December by the Department for Education, which show that there has been a 24% fall in apprenticeship starts for the 2017/18 academic year compared with figures fr ... more
The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has announced that it will hold a number of open meetings to discuss the future of card schemes in 2019. This comes after delegates at a CPA-organised Training of Plant in Construction (TOPIC) event held in April 2018 discussed the interface of plant-based card schemes and construction sector employers. The driver for discussion was the announcement ... more
The CITB has announced its intention to sign an enabling partner agreement with SSCL (Shared Services Connected Ltd), which will see the company take over a number of key activities on behalf of the trade body. This new partnership comes as part of CITB’s Vision 2020 programme of reform to better meet the demands of the British construction industry. CITB will take on a more strateg ... more
The Strategic Forum Plant Safety Group (SFPSG), chaired by the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA), has launched a refreshed version of the ‘Medical Fitness to Operate Construction Plant - Good Practice Guide’. The 52-page Good Practice Guide has primarily been revised to take into account the Data Protection Act 2018, which incorporates the European General Data Protecti ... more
The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee has published ‘Small businesses and productivity’, a report which identifies the huge damage that late payment is inflicting on small business. Rachel Reeves, chair of the committee, said: “Many SMEs are placed in a stranglehold by larger companies deliberately paying late and ruthlessly taking advantage of the ... more
A Derby man has won almost £40,000 in compensation after being exposed to asbestos for decades in the course of his career as an engineer on the railways, the Derbyshire Telegraph reports. Maurice Chapman, 86, started working on the railway as an apprentice in 1946, later becoming an electrical engineer, until his retirement in 1986. He was never told of the dangers of asbestos or supplied ... more
Back in December 2016, Facelift was celebrating raising a whopping £360 for a local children’s charity with the sale of a beautiful hand-carved owl statue, carved from one of the trees at its Hickstead depot. Carved by Luke from the local business Pixie Mushrooms Chainsaw Carver, all funds raised from the sale went to Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice in Sussex, which cares ... more
A self-employed part-time roofer has today been sentenced after both exposing a homeowner to carbon monoxide and putting co-workers at risk while working at height. Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court was told how in March 2016, Mr Robert Thompson, who was in control of work to remove a chimney at a house in Llanharan, put his co-workers at risk of falling from a height liable to ... more
A family-owned and run farming business has been fined at Aberdeen Sheriff Court after an employee sustained severe injuries following a fall from height. The court was told how in November 2017, Alan Twatt (Potatoes) Ltd, asked an employee to install an electric cable through four barns at a height of approximately 4 metres. A potato box lifted by a forklift was used as a working platform. The w ... more
A residential property development company based in Fulham has today been sentenced after failing to carry out an asbestos survey prior to undertaking extensive refurbishment works. Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told how, in December 2017, Pascal Huser Design & Build Ltd undertook construction work at a property in Fulham, London. However, a routine inspection by the Health & S ... more
