The first ever attempt to cross Antarctica in winter, dubbed The Coldest Journey, has been abandoned after just 313km of the planned 3,822km.

The five-man team set off on 21 March already a man down after expedition leader Sir Ranulph Fiennes was forced to bail out with frostbite, partly caused by the onset of diabetes.

However, in the face of a crevasse field that cannot be passed even with the pair of specially adapted Cat D6N tracked tractors, the adventure has now been called off.

With progress slowed by technical difficulties, fuel consumption had become excessive. Proceeding further would have been “reckless and irresponsible”, said team leader Brian Newham.

The sheer weight of the stores and fuel required to sustain the five men for a year in the remotest part of the vast icy continent was in excess of 150 tonnes.

The five will now pitch camp and stay where they are for the duration of the winter, concentrating on the scientific experiments that had always provided the rationale for the expedition. For the next five months, no matter what problems they encounter, no known search and rescue facilities exist in Antarctica during the winter.

While there is no glossing over the failure of the expedition, the organisers are trying to accentuate the positive. The 313km covered, climbing from sea level to almost 3,000 meters up to the polar plateau over three months, is the furthest distance and longest time that any expedition has travelled in the polar winter months, they say. With temperatures down to -50⁰C and near permanent darkness, it has been tough going.

“None of us wants to contemplate the thought of not completing the challenge of crossing Antarctica in winter,” said Brian Newham. “However, we have reached an unexpected crevasse field which, from satellite images and our own local survey using ground penetrating radar (GPR), we believe could extend up to 100km to our South. The crevasses are certainly bigger and deeper than any we have previously encountered. They could easily swallow our vehicles and are deceptively hard to spot in the darkness and snow cover: dark and difficult conditions.  In my judgement there is no real choice, I believe it would be reckless and irresponsible to press on and risk the obvious dangers while incurring excessive fuel consumption. The greatest success can now be achieved by completing the scientific studies with which we have been tasked.”

“We all feel very supportive of the unbelievably difficult decision that Brian and his colleagues have made,” said Sir Ranulph Fiennes. “We have commitments not only to research organisations but also to schools across Britain.  The communications from the team to schools will help children understand how different the Antarctic is to what they see around them and how observations of extremes help scientists to understand how the global system works.  The time it has taken to both ascend to the plateau and negotiate horrendous crevasse terrain now renders it virtually impossible to complete a continental winter traverse. Moreover, if they continue South, they will have to commit their time exclusively to safe travel through continuing crevasse territory and this will have a very detrimental effect on their ability to collect data. The science will provide a lasting legacy. The first winter crossing, while very much our original aim, will not.”

Lessons about construction machinery will also continue to be learned in the months ahead.

Caterpillar dealer Finning supplied the Cat D6N machines and the two mechanics responsible for driving and maintaining them. Finning director Jason Howlett said: “The continued safety of our engineers is paramount.  The lessons learned from Spencer Smirl and Richmond Dyke’s Antarctica experience will be especially important. They provide Finning and Caterpillar an opportunity to explore in depth how our engineers, the machines and the unique modifications continue to perform in such harsh conditions, and this invaluable knowledge will make an important contribution to the development of future equipment and engineering solutions.  We are extremely proud of both Spencer and Richmond and of how the customised Cat D6Ns have performed so far on this extraordinary journey.”

Dr Michael Stroud, who is pioneering a study of the effects of isolation and the physiological impact of the hostile conditions on the team members as part of a European Space Agency programme called ‘White Mars’, said that the change in objective could make the psychological studies even more interesting. “No one has remained at high altitude in a mobile camp in Antarctica throughout the winter before,” he said. “They could experience temperatures as low as -70⁰C and coupled with the permanent darkness and claustrophobic conditions, the stresses will be all too apparent. Future space travel will require similar endurance. This is the perfect terrestrial testing ground.”

Team member Ian Prickett filed this video diary entry on 30 May 2013:

Richmond Dyke filed this video blog entry on 5 June 2013:

A coalition of authorities and organisations has come together for a special one-day blitz on the illegal waste industry today (18 June 2013).

The Environment Agency, the police, the Road Haulage Association, the Association of British Insurers, the Vehicle & Operator Service Agency and Crimestoppers have joined forces to crack down on waste crime.

The aim of the day of action, code name Operation Cyclone, is to disrupt the supply of waste to illegal waste sites, gather intelligence and encourage people to report waste crime.

Environment Agency officers have set up stop and search blockades and are visiting waste sites.

Of the 1175 illegal waste sites known to the Environment Agency at the end of March 2012 the largest number were for construction and demolition waste (32%). There were a significant number of sites involving mixed household or commercial waste (23%) and scrap vehicles and vehicle parts (22%).

The Environment Agency issued 139 formal cautions relating to waste crime in 2011-2012. Almost 300 successful prosecutions resulted in total fines of £1.6m, with the highest fine being for £100,000.

Environment Agency taskforce manager Steve Townhill said: “Waste crime undermines legitimate business, can cause harm to environment and misery for local people. We will continue to work with our enforcement partners to combine our powers to disrupt illegal waste activity. We urge anyone with information about illegal waste activity to contact our hotline 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Mike Moore from the Road Haulage Association said: “RHA members fully support the aims of the Taskforce in particular the assistance available to legitimate business in levelling the playing field against those who continue to flout the waste carrying and disposal laws and we will continue to support the Environment Agency in its efforts.”

There is another report today blaming poor procurement practices for small building companies missing out on public sector contracts.

Yesterday the National Federation of Builders said that local authorities were becoming too reliant on credit reference agency checks and using them to blackball buildes from tender lists.

Today a report from the Federation of Master Builders says that it is too difficult for small firms to bid for work successfully. Nine out of ten public sector contracts are proving no-win areas for 40% of construction SMEs, the report says.

The report,  Improving public procurement for construction SMEs, examines the barriers facing small firms in the public sector procurement process, and makes recommendations. These include requiring all public sector clients to: use PAS 91 as the basis for their construction pre-qualification questionnaires; review the limitations they impose when assessing the financial viability of SMEs attempting to get on to a framework; and use their regional on-line portals to advertise opportunities to buyers.

FMB chief executive Brian Berry said: “Public sector construction contracts are worth more than £37bn per year – almost 40% of all construction output – so it is vital that SMEs are able to win their fair share of this work. The economic and environmental arguments for procuring with small local businesses are widely accepted, so now it’s a case of finding ways to increase this type of procurement.

“Our report highlights a number of barriers that are preventing construction SMEs from winning public sector contracts, and proposes a range of sensible and achievable recommendations for how these can be overcome. Although some parts of the public sector are good at engaging with construction SMEs, others are not and our report shines a light on best-practice in the hope that it will improve performance right across the public sector.”

Cllr Peter Fleming, chair of the Local Government Association’s improvement and innovation board, responded: “Councils have a vital role to play in driving economic growth, helping to create the right infrastructure and environment for local businesses to succeed.

“At the heart of this, councils are ensuring that they are open for business, in particular working with SMEs and local suppliers to make it easier for them to bid successfully for public contracts on everything from building houses to caring for the elderly. Indeed, many councils from all over the country now award more than half their contracts to small and medium-sized UK businesses.”

Mr Fleming concluded: “But with council funding being cut by more than a third by central government, there is simply less work around, particularly in the construction sector. The LGA is therefore working with the FMB to highlight local authorities that have streamlined their procurement practices or introduced support for local suppliers and using these examples to promote best practice across the sector and help level the playing field as much as possible for SMEs.”

Planning permission has been granted for the University of East Anglia’s Enterprise Centre, designed to be an exemplary low carbon building.

To be built by Morgan Sindall, it has been designed by architects Architype, BDP Engineers and Churchman Landscape Architects to become the first commercial building to achieve both the Passivhaus and BREEAM outstanding standards. The scheme also aspires to set new standards for embodied energy and the use of materials from renewable sources.

The Enterprise Centre at the University of East Anglia (UEA) will houses a mix of academic teaching and enterprise functions on the Norwich Research Park.

The timber- and glulam-framed building will have a locally-sourced Brettstapel-constructed lecture theatre with cladding panels prefabricated from Norfolk straw and reed.

Construction starts this summer. The Enterprise Centre aims to open its doors in January 2015.

Forming part of Architype and Churchman Landscape Architect’s larger masterplan for the area, the new building is described as an interface between the historic Earlham Hall, park and university campus. It is the first stage of a wider 5,700 sq m development of enterprise and academic accommodation, which has also been granted outline planning permission by Norwich City Council.

Architype associate director Ben Humphries, lead designer for the project, said: “We are delighted that Norwich City Council has granted planning permission for this exciting and innovative piece of architecture.  The building provides the campus with a fantastic new gateway building, and proudly announces the university’s intent to lead the way in low carbon innovation.”

This landmark project is part-funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, in addition to funding from UEA, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBRSC), Norwich Research Park (NRP) and the Building Research Establishment (BRE).

The project is the latest in a line of Passivhaus developments in and around Norwich, including Hastoe Housing’s completed scheme in Ditchingham, Broadland Housing’s scheme on site in Fulmodeston, and Broadland’s planned 250-unit Carrow Road development.

Paving block producer Marshalls has recruited a new chief executive to succeed Graham Holden, who is retiring.

The new man is former Baxi CEO Martyn Coffey, who joins as chief executive designate in September before taking over in October.

Mr Holden will stay with the company as a director until April 2014 to smooth the handover.

Mr Coffey joins Marshalls from BDR Thermea Group, a €1.8bn manufacturer and distributor of domestic and industrial heating and hot water. This Dutch company was formed in 2009 when De Dietrich Remeha acquired Baxi.  Mr Coffey had been CEO of Baxi since 2008. At BDR Thermea he was a divisional CEO and member of the management board. He also held group responsibility for sales, marketing and purchasing.

Prior to joining Baxi, he worked for Pirelli from 1991 to 2005, latterly as UK managing director.

Marshalls chairman Andrew Allner said: "The board is extremely pleased to have recruited Martyn as Marshalls' next chief executive.  He has an outstanding track record as a proven chief executive in growing businesses and brings significant international experience.  He joins a team at Marshalls with a very good understanding of the UK market, and a board with substantial City and investor understanding."

Contractors working on the new Avon & Somerset police facilities being built by Miller Construction are finger-printed every time they go on site.

All visitors also get the CSI treatment.

Miller is building four separate police stations as part of its £102m Blue Light Partnership PFI with Bilfinger Berger Project Investments. The construction element is worth £72m.

The strict site security is part of a package of measures – a biometric access control solution – provided by PermanexCCS. Each site has a purpose-built ‘quick drop’ cabin that has been specifically branded for Miller Construction. Everyone visiting or working at the construction sites has their fingerprints scanned and checked against computerised records before they can go on site each day.

Like all site-visit records, the fingerprint information is kept on file but only for the duration of the project.

“We are also looking to provide additional site security at each of the four sites including sophisticated CCTV cameras to further protect the construction sites and restrict access to pre-qualified individuals,” said PermenexCCS sales director Oliver Cox.

A new guide to help civil engineers look after infrastructure has been published by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (ICES) management panel.

The ICE/ICES Guiding Principles of Asset Management sets out the case for putting a planned maintenance programme in place instead of just reacting to deterioration.

David Pocock from the management panel said: “Civil engineers developing new infrastructure, normally with long – or very long – term design lives, take decisions in the planning, concept or detailed design stages that have huge impacts on lifecycle performance of assets eventually constructed.

“Asset management should begin with and embrace asset creation, rather than taking over when asset creation is complete.  We must also be clear that asset management principles apply whatever the form of procurement.

“We hope this guide will aid asset managers in better understanding the considerations concerned with intended use, capacity and how evolving climate, financial, political and socio-demographic changes will affect infrastructure in the future.”

The guide can be found through the ICE's website.

Quantity surveyors believe a recent rise in tender prices is “just a blip” but say that there are signs that the falling trend may really be coming to an end.

Tender prices rose by 6.4% in Q4 2012, compared with the previous quarter, and by 4.0% compared with the same quarter in 2011, according to the latest figures from the UK construction tender price index compiled by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ Building Cost Information Service (BCIS).

Although this significant rise in tender prices is considered to be a blip, but the fluctuation in the all-in tender price index over the preceding quarters is indicative of a bottoming out, the BCIS said. The market would seem to be caught between rising input cost pressures, both current and future, and the downward pull of construction workload, it added.

The total volume of construction orders increased by 35% in Q4 2012 compared with the previous quarter and by 11% compared with the same quarter in 2011. All sectors saw an increase in orders of between 9% and 10%, apart from the infrastructure sector where orders fell by 15% in Q4 2012 compared with the previous quarter.

New orders increased significantly in Q4 2012 compared to the same quarter the previous year. Double digit increases were recorded across all sectors, again with the exception of the infrastructure sector where new orders fell by 13%. However, overall, total construction orders remained unchanged in 2012 compared with 2011.

Total construction work output for Q4 2012 rose by 1% compared to Q3 2012, but fell by 9% compared with a year earlier. Additionally new work output rose by 2% in Q4 2012 compared with the previous quarter, but fell by 11% compared to a year earlier. All new work sectors experienced a fall in output over the year to 4th quarter 2012, with the exception of the private industrial sector where output increased by 6%.  There were double-digit falls in public housing (14%), public non-housing (19%) and private commercial sectors (15%).

Total construction output fell by 8% in 2012 compared with 2011, while new work output fell by 11%.

However, building costs remained unchanged in Q4 2012 compared with Q3 2012, and rose marginally by 0.3% compared to a year earlier.  Materials prices also remained unchanged in Q4 2012 compared with both the previous quarter and a year earlier. For the construction sector as a whole, average weekly earnings (AWE) remained unchanged in Q4 2012 compared to a year earlier, this compared unfavourably with AWE across the economy as a whole which saw a 1.4% growth.

BCIS information services manager Peter Rumble said: “Whilst it looks as though tender prices are bottoming out, the construction industry still has a long way to go before we reach pre-recession levels.

“With new work output expected to fall again in 2013, we are predicting a rise in tender prices a little ahead of input cost rises over the next year. As demand begins to pick up again in 2014 tender prices will still remain a little ahead of cost rises and gradually move further ahead towards the end of the forecast period in 2017, as demand strengthens.”

Mr Rumble added: “A modest recovery of 2% in new work output is predicted for 2014 as the economy as a whole starts to grow stronger and both consumer and business confidence grows. Government initiatives to boost house building including ‘FirstBuy’, ‘New Buy’ and ‘Help to Buy’ should slowly start to drag private sector housing out of recession in 2013.  In addition, the infrastructure sector is anticipated to have reasonably strong growth over the forecast period driven in particular by a pipeline of projects in the rail and electricity sub-sectors.”

Promat UK, supplier of passive fire protection products and systems, has acquired the operations of Yorkshire-based C3S Securiglass, which produces fire- and blast-resistant glass.

Securiglass is already a supplier to Promat, with products including laminated glasses for integrity and insulation applications, as well as its Smokestream glazed smoke curtain system and explosion-resistant glazing for security applications.

Promat strategic business development manager Ian Cowley said: “Having these products available to us in-house will now allow us to be even more competitive when it comes to fire-related applications. It will also help us increase the level of technical and commercial support as well as the efficiency of our service and delivery offering.”

Far East Façade UK, subsidiary of Chinese cladding firm Far East Global, has appointed John Libby as its technical sales director.

He joins from Lindner Schmidlin Facades, where he was technical director.

His new boss, Peter Walker, said: “John is technically one of the best in the business, as well as being adept at managing multi-national development projects, he has the natural ability to build strong business relationships and resolve issues at every stage of the process.”

Leeds-based Everbuild has annual sales revenue of £60m and 270 employees.

Everbuild will now operate as a subsidiary of Sika UK and will be managed under the existing management team. Its founder, David Seymour will stay with the company.

Mr Seymour said: “With Sika we have the possibility to further grow our business and to benefit from the broad R&D capabilities for further product innovation.”

Sika CEO Jan Jenisch said: “The acquisition will give us a strong position in the UK distribution market and offers considerable potential to further leverage Everbuild’s sales channels with Sika’s product range.”

Balfour Beatty and Wates have added their weight to construction’s Supply Chain Sustainability School.

They join Skanska, the original founder, along with, Kier, Lend Lease, Morgan Sindall, Sir Robert McAlpine, Willmott Dixon and Aggregate Industries, who were already backing the project.

In its first year, the Supply Chain Sustainability School gained 2,400 registered members, exceeding the original target of 800. Members come from more than 1,300 companies that want to improve their sustainability credentials.

Launched in June 2012, the Supply Chain Sustainability School is a ‘virtual learning environment’ that aims to help construction suppliers and subcontractors develop their sustainability knowledge and competence.

The project is run by environmental consultant Action Sustainability and has been backed by the CITB Growth Fund.

There were no new construction knights in the weekend’s Birthday Honours list but there was recognised for three men who have shown leadership in industry training initiatives.

Geoff Lister, chairman of the Cross-Industry Construction Apprenticeship Task Force, has been awarded a CBE for services to training in the construction industry.

There is an MBE for Trevor Gamble (below), long-serving chairman of the Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS), for services to health & safety in construction as well as training.

Robert Williams, chairman and founder of WRW Group, is also recognised with an MBE for his services to skills and training in the construction sector.

Other industry professionals on the list include Professor Jeremy Watson, director of global research and consulting engineer Arup, who gets a CBE for services to engineering, and Thames Water senior technical engineer Clive Dickens, who gets an MBE for services to the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games.

The Welsh regional government is calling for devolution of stamp duty so that it put in place measures to boost the construction industry.

First minister Carwyn Jones said that devolving stamp duty to Wales, which is currently being considered, would boost the housing market and support the construction sector.

The Silk Commission recommended that a range of financial powers, including stamp duty, should be devolved to the Welsh government in the next few years.  The UK government is due to make its response to the Silk Commission imminently. 

Carwyn Jones said: "We know the Welsh construction sector is facing difficult times and we are doing everything we can to continue to support them through our capital investments, but we want to do more.  It is widely recognised that stamp duty is a poorly designed tax which distorts the housing market and therefore causes problems for the construction industry and for house buyers. By devolving stamp duty to Wales we will have a real opportunity to reform the tax and make it simpler, fairer and more efficient. 

"Finance minister Jane Hutt met with representatives from the construction sector recently to get their views on how we could use stamp duty to best effect.  We now want to get on and put our plans into practice to boost jobs and growth. 

"The UK government said they would respond to Silk in the spring.  Spring is now turning into summer and we are still waiting for a response.   Swift and positive action from the UK government will enable us to put our plans for reform into practice and to start delivering a better tax system for both house builders and house buyers in Wales."

The construction industry has voiced concern about the delays to proposed reform of the building regulations.

The UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) wants the government to push ahead with its policy for all new homes to be zero carbon from 2016.  

The government restated its commitment to zero carbon in this year’s budget statement, promising that a detailed plan and response to the 2012 consultation on the energy efficiency requirements in the building regulations would be published by May 2013. Not such document has yet appeared.

The UK-GBC is concerned that this delay is causing further uncertainty for house builders, product manufacturers and the wider supply chain, who have been gearing up to implement the policy from October this year.

UK-GBC chief executive Paul King said: “It’s been almost three months since the government restated its commitment to zero carbon, promising an announcement by May. Yet two weeks on from this date we are still in the dark about the future direction of this essential policy.

“What builders need is certainty - and this is anything but. While the coalition continues to dither over zero carbon, product manufacturers and the supply chain are losing out, putting jobs and much needed growth in the construction sector at risk.”

David Bownass, sustainability director at consulting engineer WSP, added: “Given the lack of ambition in the proposed Part L 2013 changes, particularly for dwellings, and the uncertainty in even implementing a small step towards the fabric energy efficiency (FEE) standard in 2013, the already ‘watered down’ zero carbon proposals in 2016 must be in jeopardy. The delay only adds to the uncertainty and undermines the government’s own ambitions for growth through construction.

“It’s now likely that the final changes will be rushed through and the government would be well advised to pause and ensure the revised national calculation methodology (NCM) software is thoroughly tested before release or more chaos will ensue.”

In an apparent bid to encourage take-up of its Green Deal scheme, the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) has released data that suggests home improvements that reduce energy bills can also add up to 38% to the property value.

According to research commissioned by the DECC, an average English home improving its energy performance certificate (EPC) from band G to E, or from band D to B, could add £16,000 to its sale price. In the northeast, improved energy efficiency from band G to E could increase this value by more than £25,000, or in the northwest by £23,000.

The report claims that energy efficiency is now a key factor influencing the sale price of most residential dwellings in England.

Energy minister Greg Barker said: “We have long known the benefits of making energy saving improvements to the home, but this study is real evidence of the huge potential rewards. Not only can energy efficient improvements help protect you against rising energy prices, but they can also add real value to your property. This Coalition is committed to helping hardworking families with the cost of living. The Green Deal is designed to do exactly that.

“The Green Deal is helping more people make these types of home improvements, reducing high upfront costs and letting people pay for some the cost through the savings on their bills. The Green Deal is a great option for anyone wanting to improve the look, feel and potentially the value of their home.”

Despite celebrity endorsements, take-up of the Green Deal offer has been low, with little evidence of any public awareness of the scheme. The Green Deal is the government’s flagship energy policy, offering households support for energy-saving improvements, with the repayments spread out over time and paid back through the electricity bill.

TV’s Kevin McCloud said: “There are some 26 million homes in Britain, most of them about as well insulated as a rabbit hutch, and they need immediate help to be made less wasteful. This timely report tells us what we suspected all along: that people really value the well-insulated, energy-efficient home; that modest investment in measures to make our homes more comfortable, healthier and cheaper-to-run really pays off.

“The Green Deal is now maturing into a helpful way of financing a lot of the retrofit solutions around. Homeowners can now start to make these changes, alleviate the burden of high energy bills and improve the value of their prime asset.”

An Investigation of the Effect of EPC Ratings on House Prices is a report for the Department of Energy &Climate Change by Franz Fuerst, University of Cambridge; Pat McAllister, University of College London; Anupam Nanda, University of Reading; and Peter Wyatt, University of Reading. The report has not yet undergone full peer review.

There is growing concern that local authorities are over-dependent on the credit reference agency (CRA) reports to exclude SME building firms from public works contracts, contrary to procurement best-practice.

A report from the National Federation of Builders (NFB) suggests that local government’s use of credit reports could be excluding SMEs from public sector work worth as much as £2bn a year.

The National Federation of Builders (NFB) is calling for guidance from the Cabinet Office and the Local Government Association about the use of CRA reports after finding that some local authorities were using these reports as the basis for a ‘pass or fail’ judgement for public contracts.

The NFB report, The use of credit reference agency reports in local government procurement, found that the use of credit reports as part of financial assessments is widespread. Of the 288 local authorities that responded to its survey, 66% said that they use credit reports as part of the procurement process. 

With 40% of construction work traditionally coming from the public sector, fair access to contracts is crucial for the survival of SMEs, the NFB said.

Just over 13% of local authorities stated that they used credit reports to make pass or fail judgements. While this does not signify extensive use of CRA reports to make pass or fail judgements, the NFB is concerned that this may be a growing problem, particularly where the same company can get different scores from different credit reference agencies.

The NFB has estimated that the value of work evaluated on a pass or fail basis is around £2.1bn. The regions where the highest value of work was evaluated in this way were the southeast (£416m) and the northeast (£331m).

The NFB believes it is poor practice not rely on credit reports as the sole means of financial assessment and says that this view is supported by the Cabinet Office and the CBI.

Chief executive Julia Evans said: “The use of credit reports as the sole or principal means of assessment can lead to SME contractors being discriminated against as this approach fails to take into account variations in smaller contractors’ accounts. The NFB wants to discourage the use of credit reports in this way. Such usage wields CRA reports as an unnecessarily blunt instrument for deciding who passes and who fails in the tendering process and does little to support the very good and supportive practices of many local authorities.”

The survey of local authorities across England also found that many councils are keen to continue to work with and support SMEs and do not want the procurement process to act as a barrier to access.

Under the Public Contract Regulations 2006 which cover all works contracts above the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) threshold of £4,348,350, there is no scope for public bodies to use independently procured credit reports in assessing the economic and financial standing of bidders. However, although this has been made clear in legislation and through Cabinet Office procurement policy notes, work below the OJEU threshold is not subject to the same legislation and such policy is not clear.

The NFB said that it supports the validating of financial liability and understands that CRA reports may be helpful as a part of a wider financial evaluation process. However, many building firms were being excluded unfairly, it said.  Failing a pass or fail test set by a local authority based on a CRA report does not mean an SME contractor is not suitable for a contract, the NFB argues.

The NFB claims that Cabinet Office has backed its report, as the government’s own guidance is that CRA reports should not be used as the sole assessment tool. The Cabinet Office said: “We see the report’s endorsement of the PAS 91:2013 standard, which has been produced with the aim of streamlining and reducing the cost of pre-qualification in construction procurement processes, as a clear means of ensuring that all potential providers, whatever their size or constitution, are treated fairly and with equal diligence during the financial appraisal process.”

Jim Bligh, head of public services at the CBI, commented: “High-quality procurement can be an important driver of growth and is essential to ensuring good public services at a time of lower public spending. There has been progress in local authorities creating opportunities for SME suppliers directly, or through supply chains – but more needs to be done. This report shows that some local authorities are using credit checks as a blunt instrument to manage their suppliers. What is needed is sharper, more targeted engagement with the market that ensures the best providers can provide.”

The NFB is pushing for the government to review public sector procurement practices and increase the use of the PAS 91 common set of pre-qualification questions to simplify the tendering process and reduce costs on all sides.

PAS 91 is a publicly available specification that sets out a common set of pre-qualification questions for construction-related tendering. It is sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and has been developed by the British Standards Institution (BSI) with a representative steering group of industry, client and accreditation scheme participants that included the National Federation of Builders. PAS 91 was revised in 2013 to include an optional module on building information modelling as well as the option for clients to add their own questions, provided they are not project-specific questions.

Construction industry output fell 6.5% in April 2013, latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show.

April 2013 output was also down 1.1% on April 2012.

For the three month period February to April 2013 construction output decreased by 4.7% compared with the same period of 2012. New work was down 5.8%, and there were large falls in public other new work (17.3%) and private-commercial other new work (8.8%). Other new work excludes the housing and infrastructure sectors but includes construction on factories, warehouses, schools and offices etc.

There was also a 2.8% decrease in repair and maintenance mainly due to a 7.5% fall in private housing repair and maintenance.

Comparing April 2013 with March 2013, the non-seasonally adjusted total volume of construction output decreased by 6.5%. All sectors shrank except for private housing new work and repair & maintenance which showed increases of 3.6% and 0.4% respectively. Overall repair & maintenance decreased by 9.7%, mainly due to large falls in infrastructure and public housing repair & maintenance, which fell 21.6% and 18.5% respectively.

Pinsent Masons global business consultant Graham Robinson said: "Apart from the government's housing stimulus, the beleaguered construction sector is still very depressed and continues to tread on thin ice. Cuts in public funded construction, the construction industry's largest customer, are still continuing.

"The long-awaited spending on large capital projects is yet to materialise, but with even the government's Priority Building Schools Programme being cut back significantly, we expect more uncertainty and delay. Although we expect construction to grow from the end of 2013, it will be from a deeper than expected trough that will have significantly damaged the industry in the longer-term."

David Crosthwaite, an economist with construction consultancy Aecom, commented: “Another month and a further disappointing set of data for the construction industry. The latest ONS release highlights the almost inexorable decline of construction output both year-on-year and month by month.

“Both new work by public corporations and private housing repair and maintenance registered the largest declines.  The only bright spot was growth registered in the industrial buildings sector, however it should be noted that this is currently the smallest sector by volume of activity.

“Over the recent past new work declines have accounted for much of the downturn but worryingly now even repair and maintenance output is showing signs of contraction.

“Construction output is now significantly lower than the previous lowest point during this recession, at the end of 2009, and in volume terms output levels are back to those last seen at the beginning of 1999. One begins to wonder how much lower construction output can go before some level of intervention takes place.”

Former chief executive Steve Driver has further loosened his ties to the construction consultancy Driver Group by stepping down from the board.

He moved from CEO to chairman in 2009 and to non-executive director in 2011. As part of a planned withdrawal, he has now left the board altogether.

However, he still owns nearly 10% of the business and will continue in a part-time role as director of business development for the DriverTrett dispute resolution business as an employee of Driver Consult Ltd.

Dave Webster, who succeeded him as CEO, said: "I would like to personally thank Stephen for providing the opportunity to join the company in 1999 and supporting my development through to the position I have today. Now is the right time for this final transition and Stephen leaves the board with the company performing at the top end of management's expectations and nicely positioned for the remainder of this current financial year and beyond."

Jephson Homes Housing Association and Raglan Housing have disclosed that their boards are discussing a merger to create an organisation with close to 30,000 properties.

Both Jephson and Raglan recognise the potential benefits of becoming an enlarged housing association group and are keen to explore options, they said.

Exploratory talks are expected to last until the autumn, when both boards will review the business case and decide whether to progress further.

Raglan owns and manages approximately 13,000 affordable low cost homes in almost 100 local authority areas. The main part of the business focuses on general needs accommodation along with a wide range of supported and specialist services. In the main, Raglan has grown organically across the southwest, the midlands and east, and the southeast.

Jephson manages more than 16,000 homes including general family housing, low-cost home ownership, housing for older people and housing for tenants with support needs. It includes Marches Housing Association, which was formed following the transfer of housing stock from Leominster District Council in 1994 and joined the Jephson Group as a subsidiary in May 1996.

Jephson chair Michael Collins said: “While both Jephson and Raglan are robust, successful organisations, we’d be stronger together than individually, enhancing what we do now as well as what we want to do in the future. The geography of the combined group would help us benefit from economies of scale and efficiencies. Both Raglan and Jephson share a similar ethos and values, which is an important consideration, particularly in terms of our staff and residents.”

Raglan chair George Blunden added: “Housing Associations need to get much smarter and be more creative to address the issues that lie ahead in the housing sector. Raglan has already begun this journey, undergoing a period of major business transformation which is already bearing fruit. We need to continue to look forward and strength and sustainability are key factors in our strategy of investment and growth. A combined organisation would be in the best position to respond to the changing external environment, including local and government policy.”