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Balfour Beatty has become the government’s second largest strategic supplier after a jump in the value of its work in 2020.
Between September 2019 and August 2020, the government spent £1.4bn with Balfour Beatty, an increase of almost a third on the prior year. The business managed to increase its revenue thanks to it doing more work with Highways England and Network Rail, helping move the firm from fourth to second place.
The increase was revealed in an analysis of the government’s spending with its 38 strategic suppliers carried out by public sector procurement data specialist Tussell.
Amey maintained its position as the government’s largest supplier with £1.49bn worth of work in the period. Tussell’s analysis includes Amey’s facilities management contracts as well as its construction work. Kier was narrowly squeezed into third place with its revenue around £30m behind that of second-place Balfour Beatty. Two years ago, the contractor had been the government’s lar
By James Morris 2021-02-18T05:00:00+00:00
Will the new regulator have the teeth it needs? And what about product testing?
A new construction products national regulator is imminent. Housing minister Robert Jenrick announced the new tsar’s creation following what he described as “deeply disturbing allegations of malpractice by some construction product manufacturers and their employees, and of the weaknesses of the present product testing regime” in evidence given to the Grenfell inquiry.
The regulator is to have strong enforcement powers, including the power to remove any product from the market presenting a significant safety risk, to prosecute any companies not complying with product safety rules, and to conduct its own product-testing when investigating concerns. Businesses must ensure their products are safe before being sold, in addition to testing products against safety standards.