Flood defence repair projects identified by Environment Agency

Over 600 flood defence sites require work after recent storms.

Following the record-breaking wet-weather in December, with Storms Desmond and Eva battering the UK, inspections have been carried out by the Environment Agency on 80% of their flood defence assets, with 660 flood defences identified as needing repair work. Due to the hostile weather, military assistance has been required for some of the inspections, whilst other assets remain under water.

December was the wettest month on record, after heavy rain saw 14 rivers across the north recording their highest ever flows. Honister Pass in Cumbria saw the highest amount of rainfall ever in a 24-hour period, with more than 341mm, and almost 200 Environment Agency river level gauges recorded their highest ever river level.

Some repairs are already complete, including in Croston, Lancashire, where sheets of corrugated metal were driven into the ground to repair a river bank damaged by high flows on the River Douglas.

The repair work will be funded in part by the government’s investment in recovery from Storm Eva and Storm Desmond, which now amounts to nearly £200M.

Environment Agency flood defences protected 12,500 properties during Storm Desmond and 10,900 during Storm Eva but more than 20,000 properties flooded as a result of the extreme weather.

Environment Agency Acting Chairman Emma Howard Boyd said: “Our teams have worked tirelessly to repair flood defences and help communities in particular across Cumbria, Lancashire and Yorkshire get back on their feet after the terrible flooding we saw over December and January.

“Last week I visited Croston in Lancashire and saw the fantastic work that had been done to repair the flood bank and restore protection to residents in the village. This is the crucial work we are now focusing on to restore protection to those homes and businesses at risk.”

Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, said: “Vital flood recovery work is underway across the north of England as Environment Agency teams work to identify repairs and restore protection to communities. We will be using the £40M provided to us by the government to carry out these vital repairs.

“We will also continue to work with the government on its Flood Resilience Review, which will assess how we can be better protected in future from the type of extreme weather we saw in December.”

Alongside the recovery work, the Environment Agency is on track to better protect 44,000 properties in England this year through its continued programme of investment in flood defence schemes. This work is part of a £2.3Bn government investment in more than 1,500 flood defence schemes, reducing flood risk to 300,000 properties by 2021.

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Reaction to Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI for January

The Vinden Partnership hopeful industry will perform better as the year progresses

The Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI for January has been released and reveals that the industry experienced a slowdown in growth at the beginning of 2016.

UK construction’s PMI fell to 55.0, down from December’s figure of 57.8, still well above the growth threshold of 50 but registering the slowest period of growth since April 2015.

Commercial work was once again the best performing sector but its growth was still the lowest since last June.

Housebuilding saw its weakest period of growth for over two and half years, while civil engineering was the lowest performing sector.

Businesses remained upbeat about the prospects for growth over the next year, with 46% of respondents predicting an increase in activity and only 7% expecting to see a downturn. There was some concern expressed, however, that underlying demand conditions had begun to soften.

Martin Bennett, a Regional Director at The Vinden Partnership – a leading multi-disciplinary consultant company to the built environment commented: “The slowdown in the industry is, on the surface, disappointing but if we look closer the positivity about the coming 12 months from people within the industry is extremely high.

“There has been some uncertainty in the global markets recently and that has made businesses more cautious than they otherwise would be. However, with the reports of strong order books and the continued investment from the government in housebuilding and large infrastructure projects, I expect the construction industry to perform more strongly as we move further into 2016.”

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Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI released for January

UK construction industry experiences slowdown in growth

The UK construction industry saw its weakest performance in nine months according to the latest Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figures.

UK construction’s PMI fell to 55.0, down from December’s figure of 57.8, still well above the growth threshold of 50 but registering the slowest period of growth since April 2015.

As with December’s figures, commercial work was the strongest performing category but still saw the slowest rise since June last year.

Housebuilding also experienced its weakest period of growth in over two and a half years.

The poorest performing sector was again civil engineering, despite displaying a slight increase from December’s eight-month low.

Businesses remained very positive about the prospects for growth over the next 12 months, with 46% of respondents forecasting a rise in activity and only 7% expecting to see a downturn. There was some concern expressed, however, that underlying demand conditions had begun to soften.

Tim Moore, Senior Economist at Markit said: “UK construction firms struggled for momentum at the start of this year, with heightened economic uncertainty acting as a brake on new orders and contributing to one of the weakest rises in output levels since the summer of 2013. Softer growth of house building activity and a more subdued increase in commercial construction were the main factors behind the slowdown.

“Business confidence appears to have subsided across the construction sector, following the multiyear highs seen in 2015. The latest survey indicated that construction companies are less upbeat about their prospects for growth than at any time since December 2014.

“Job creation was sustained in January, but at the weakest pace for almost two-and-a-half years. Greater caution was also evident in terms of input buying at the start of 2016. Taken together with the slowdown in new order growth, the latest survey suggests that construction companies are braced for a relatively subdued first quarter.”

The slowdown in the construction industry was in contrast to the manufacturing industry, which yesterday posted better than expected figures of growth for January.

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2015: a record year for Offshore wind investment

Some €13Bn invested in offshore wind last year, creating 3GW new capacity.

New figures released by the EWEA (The European Wind Energy Association) show that Offshore wind investments in Europe doubled in 2015 with a total of €13.3Bn, meaning it was a record year for financing and grid-connected installations.

Some 3,019 MW of new offshore wind capacity came online in European waters in 2015, more than double what was connected to the grid in 2014. Europe’s total offshore wind capacity is now 11,027 MW.

Further to this, some 3,034MW of capacity, comprising some ten projects, reached final investment decision in 2015, another increase from 2014.

Giles Dickson, Chief Executive Officer of the European Wind Energy Association, said: “It’s good to see the high level of investments in offshore wind in Europe in 2015. The 3GW of new capacity additions is also encouraging though it includes a large backlog of grid connections from 2014, especially in Germany.”

Germany added the majority of this, grid-connecting some 2,282MW of Offshore energy, Britain connected 556MW and the Netherlands 180MW.

Work is ongoing on a further six projects in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands, which will contribute an additional 1.9GW in capacity.

With a net addition of 754 wind turbines fully grid connected in 2015, the average machine size rose to 4.2MW from 3.7MW a year earlier as manufacturers continue to develop larger models with higher energy capture.

Mr Dickson said that while Germany had had massive input into the increase, as it cleared a backlog of work from 2014, the UK still has the most installed offshore wind power in Europe – some 5,061MW compared to Germany’s 3,295MW.

He followed: “New capacity additions will be lower in 2016 than 2015 though should then rebound, and we can expect to have over 20GW offshore wind in Europe by 2020. The real question is what happens after 2020. The industry is making real progress in reducing costs. But we need Governments to give us a clear vision of the volumes they envisage long term and the regulatory framework they’ll apply to drive the necessary investments. Active collaboration between governments is also key: to align their efforts to develop the sector in the North Sea and Baltic.”

 

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Putting UK rail growth on the right track

RSG launch strategy for rail growth

February 1st saw the launch of the Rail Supply Group’s (the sector council representing the rail supply chain in the UK) strategy to build growth in the UK rail industry and support exports.

The strategy was presented by RSG at the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre in Coventry, at an event hosted by Business Secretary Sajid Javid, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin and Managing Director of Alstom UK & Ireland Terence Watson.

The RSG’s strategy will support the sector to take advantage of positive trends in the global rail market, with global rail growth expected to be 2.7% a year, reaching £128Bn by 2019. This comes as government has committed to spend over £38Bn to maintain and improve the UK rail network by 2019 in the biggest modernisation programme for over a century.

RSG will review its strategy every three years and will work with a full range of groups to make sure it remains relevant for a growing industry.

The plan covers how to improve productivity and secure the future of the UK railway. Supporting suppliers of all sizes, the strategy intends to improve conditions across the supply chain and sets out RSG’s plan to implement its Productivity Pledge, which commits the rail supply sector to deliver:

• a strategic approach to procurement and planning
• a clear plan to drive world-class UK technologies
• a coherent skills plan to attract the best talent and increase productivity
• a comprehensive package of support for SMEs
• a fresh, co-ordinated approach to increase exports and inward investment

Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and co-chair of the Rail Supply Group said: “The UK was a rail industry pioneer and this strategy will ensure we are global leaders for years to come.

“A strong rail sector supply chain is essential for our future productivity and the commitment to take on 20,000 new apprentices will provide opportunities for our young people to start successful careers in this vital sector.”

Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary of State for Transport and co-chair of the Rail Supply Group said: “We are funding the biggest rail modernisation programme since Victorian times which is creating opportunities for UK suppliers across the country. We support the rail industry’s plans to strengthen our supply chain so British companies can win more work here and abroad.

“Rail Supply Group’s focus on developing a skilled rail workforce is very welcome. Our priority is to attract the nation’s talent to the industry and to equip them with the skills to deliver on our commitment to build a world class transport infrastructure system.

Terence Watson, Managing Director of Alstom UK & Ireland and Rail Supply Group Industry co-chair said: “The opportunities in the rail industry right now and into the foreseeable future are vast, with HS2 on the way as well as other much needed investments in upgrades, signalling and electrification.

“But just to build these projects and then pack up at the end would miss the point. As an industry we must use them to kick-start a new wave of UK manufacturing and exporting prowess, maximising the benefit to UK PLC. That’s why we are pledging today (1st February 2016) to work together to double the industry’s export volumes, drive economic growth and create thousands of new jobs and apprenticeships across the country.”

The RSG’s rail growth strategy sets out the group’s plan to:

• improve market conditions for the rail supply sector by securing greater visibility of planned investments with government and improving procurement approaches
• accelerate the uptake of innovation in the supply chain by promoting effective collaboration between clients and suppliers and improving the UK’s capacity for testing and research
• invest in people and skills, including developing a network of training centres, an industry talent pool and incentivising training through revised procurement approaches
• grow exports and inward investment by working closely with government to improve access to foreign markets, clients and investors, as well as supporting smaller suppliers to export

 

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Right to Rent comes into force

The government’s right to rent scheme is now live across England meaning landlords will be required to perform checks on all new adult tenants to ensure their eligibility to rent property in the country.

Right to Rent was introduced in the Immigration Act 2014 and is also applicable to people who sublet their property or take in lodgers.

Landlords who neglect to undertake checks could potentially face a penalty of up to £3,000 per tenant. The scheme has been in operation in the West Midlands since December 2014, with the next phase of a UK-wide roll-out, seeing the scheme extended across England.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said: “We firmly believe in creating an immigration system which is fair to those here legally, but firm with those who try to break the rules. That is why Right to Rent is so important.

“The scheme builds on the Right to Work checks that employers have been making for some time, and we know that many landlords already carry out simple identity checks as a matter of good practice.

Landlords will need to check identity documents for all new tenants and make copies. The government say they have collaborated with housing and homeless charities to create a document list, which is hoped will cover different scenarios such as when people do not have the usual kind of identity documents such as passports or driving licences.

Mr Brokenshire commented: “Over the past year, we have taken time to engage with the people who will be affected by the scheme, and carried out a thorough evaluation. The system we have designed is light-touch, and allows those with a legitimate right to be in the country to quickly and easily demonstrate their right to rent.

“We are building on the work started in the 2014 Immigration Act through the new Immigration Bill, which contains additional powers to target unscrupulous landlords by introducing new criminal offences targeted at those who repeatedly fail to carry out Right to Rent checks.”

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Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing PMI released for January

Start of 2016 sees UK manufacturing growth increase

The UK manufacturing industry accelerated to a three-month high in January according to the latest figures.

The Markit/CIPS UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) grew to 52.9 up on December’s figure of 52.1, and above the growth threshold of 50.0.

The results mark the 34^th successive month that the PMI has remained above 50.0 mark.

Growth was driven by strong performances from larger manufacturing companies, with SMEs only seeing comparatively slight growth.

Exports orders, however, declined with Markit saying companies cited strong competition from abroad and difficult market conditions such as the Sterling – Euro exchange rate as problems.

For the fourth time in the last six-month, employment levels fell, albeit at a moderate level.

Rob Dobson, Senior Economist at Markit commented: ““The UK manufacturing sector registered an uptick in its rate of expansion at the start of 2016, shrugging off a number of potential headwinds, ranging from global financial market volatility to localised flooding in the North of the country.

“The domestic market remains the key growth driver. In contrast, the trend in new export orders continues to disappoint, falling back into reverse gear in January. Even after recent easing in the exchange rate, a number of manufacturers are still finding that the strength of the pound against the euro is impacting order inflows. Reports from companies also highlight how the general operating environment has become increasingly competitive both at home and abroad as firms scramble to win new customers.

“Strong competition on the sales side combined with the ongoing weakness of global commodity prices meant that manufacturers saw selling prices and input costs fall further in January. Subdued growth, rising global headwinds and a lack of inflationary pressure provide further cause for the Bank of England to push its first rate increase into the back and beyond of 2016.”

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