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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Update – free frameworks webinars and the Building Safety Bill

A series of free webinars are being held this month to help public sector clients access three major frameworks, including a £250 million modular buildings framework and new schemes to support the procurement of roofing work, vandal-resistant access controls and fire door installations.

Public sector procurement experts LHC London and South East is hosting these events yesterday (July 20) and Thursday July 22.

Attendees will have the opportunity to speak to LHC’s technical experts on the scope of the frameworks, as well as understanding the range of local companies pre-vetted by LHC and the call-off procedures to get projects started.

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Ethan James, acting regional manager at LHC London and South East, comments: “These three frameworks being launched for our region address three of the biggest areas of interest and concern for many of our public sector clients.”

“The Modular Buildings framework (MB2) in particular is going to be much in demand, covering the design, supply, and installation of both temporary and permanent modular buildings such as schools, hospitals, emergency services and other community buildings. It’s an easy way for many local authorities to access low-risk forms of MMC.”

“Roofing Systems (RS4) is another of our biggest frameworks. And the new C8 framework for doors and access control is likely to be very popular in the light of councils’ efforts to improve security and fire safety in so many of their properties.”

He adds: “Each one of our frameworks has been designed to ensure it addresses all the current needs of local authorities and their communities and aims to deliver high-quality products, practices, and access to local, pre-approved suppliers.”

The Roofing Systems (RS4) webinar took place yesterday from 9.30-10.30am. This unified framework replaced two previously separate agreements for pitched roofing and flat roofing. It provided an enhanced offer by adding more workstream lots than ever before. These consist of traditional flat roofing, liquid system flat roofing, profiled metal roofing, traditional pitched roofing, and mixed roofing.

The Communal Doors, Entrance Doors and Associated Products (C8) webinar also took place yesterday from 11.30am-12.30pm. This new framework featured additional and improved options with six specific lots covering composite and timber doors, both fire and non-fire rated, communal entrance and exit doors in steel, aluminium and timber, and access control. It is ideal for a range of buildings including multi-occupancy residential, education, local government, police, and fire authority buildings.

Taking place tomorrow from 10-11am, the Modular Buildings Framework (MB2) has replaced an extremely successful framework that enabled more than £100 million worth of projects to be delivered across London and the South East. The new MB2 framework is designed to provide a full turnkey solution for all non-housing-related modular public building projects.

To see all the currently available framework guides, you can visit LHC’s website here.

Building Safety Bill backed by Constructing Excellence Midlands

The introduction of the Building Safety Bill is expected to bring much-needed improvements to safety compliance and building quality in the residential property sector, according to members of Constructing Excellence Midlands.

Introduced on July 5 2021, the Bill features a new Building Safety Regulator at the core of the reforms, with a focus on safety accountability, increased pathways and compensation opportunities for residents raising concerns and a cultural change to crack down on poor quality and unlawful building practices.

Andrew Carpenter, chief executive of Constructing Excellence Midlands, comments: “The introduction of the Building Safety Bill is a landmark moment for the constructing industry and is promising to see such change now being made. It is a pivotal step towards tackling the UK’s housing crisis - giving more power to the leaseholders.”

Chris Stevens, managing director for the Midlands and performance excellence at Kier, adds: “The Building Safety Bill is another positive step forward to improve safety across the built environment and, taken together with other initiatives such as the Building Safer Futures Charter, will help drive up standards and deliver long-term step change within the construction sector.”

The new measures in the Building Safety Bill aim to clearly identify where the responsibility lies for safety compliance, with liability and enforcement available to be enacted by the building safety regulator if required - increasing leaseholder rights to compensation.

The Bill also intends to strengthen the regulatory framework for building products to enhance the requirements of the quality control process.

Julie Bell-Barker, head of construction projects and works at City of Wolverhampton Council, says: “I welcome this bill; It has got real teeth and holds clients, designers and contractors accountable for the decisions they make around quality and compliance.”

“I hope the impacts of the reforms will be immediately recognisable and a driving force for cultural change in the construction industry – creating longer-lasting, higher quality and safer homes in the Midlands for years to come.”

Professor Rudi Klein, barrister and director at Klein Legal, states: “Hopefully this bill will help drive genuine collaboration in the industry and reduce the incidence of poor practices – such as payment abuse and lowest price culture – which compromise building quality and has plagued the construction industry for far too long.”

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