Politics

9.01.18

Happy New Year!

We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and 2018 has got off to a great start!

A cabinet shuffle is often the chance to reassert a prime minister’s authority and refresh a party’s image. But Theresa May’s reshuffle didn’t go exactly to plan when several cabinet ministers refused to move, according to sources. Education Secretary Justine Greening refused to be transferred and handed in her resignation and Jeremy Hunt is said to have kept his role after “persuading” Mrs May not to move him. To further complicate things, the Conservative party tweeted out Chris Grayling as the new chairman, when the role actually went to the immigration minister Brandon Lewis.

Brighton left it late to beat rivals Crystal palace 2-1 in the third round of the FA Cup, after striker Glenn Murray scored the winning goal in the dying minutes. The FA Cup game marked the debut for the new Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology, which is a new system designed to keep referee mistakes to a minimum. The VAR will only intervene when the referee makes a clear and obvious error. But in last night’s cup tie, the new system remained unused despite Murray’s controversial winning goal which looked like he handballed into the net.

Nearly 200,00 Salvadorans face deportation from the United States by September 2019 after the Trump administration ended special protection status for people from the Central American country. The decision made by the Homeland Security will have a heavy impact on parts of New York, Los Angeles and New York with a large Salvadoran community.

In construction news this week…

Health fears raised over construction nanotechnologies. Tiny particles in building materials could pose asbestos-style dangers.

Jailed payroll cheats ordered to pay back £3.5m within 3 months or serve longer prison terms and still owe the money. Accountant Aquil Ahmed, 61, and construction services company director Victor Shearer, 44 were jailed in October 2016 after they cheated HM Revenue and Customs of £6.9m in VAT, income tax, National Insurance Contributions and Construction Industry Scheme deductions.

Huge blaze hits Balfour Bristol university site. Balfour Beatty started on site early last year on a £19m contract to renovate and extend the Grade II listed building.

In MECsafe news this week…

We still have plenty of availability on the following courses:

PASMA (Mobile Towers) – 15th Jan 2018

SSSTS (Supervisors) – 18th & 19th Jan 2018

UKATA Asbestos Awareness – 22nd Jan 2018

If you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

14.08.17

She’s back!

After her three week holiday, Theresa May makes her return to Downing Street this week as ministers prepare to amplify their negotiating position on Brexit.

In the final evening of the World Championships, Great Britain picked up a silver and bronze medal in the women and men’s 4x400m relays. Their medals take team GB’s total medal tally to six.

Four time Olympic champion Mo Farah has accused the media of trying to “destroy” his legacy over allegations his coach breached anti-doping regulations. On Sunday, the 34-year-old insisted his achievements throughout his career has come from hard work.

In construction news this week…

Big Ben to fall silent for building works. On Monday 21st August at noon, the bongs of Big Ben will sound for the last time for a four-year conservation programme.

First ACM cladding passes fire tests. The first aluminium composite panel cladding system has passed the Government’s fresh round of stringent fire tests in the in the wake of London’s Grenfell disaster.

Google gets green light for £1bn King’s Cross HQ. Internet giant Google has been given the green light by planners to build its new £1bn headquarters at King’s Cross in London.

In MECsafe news this week…

We still have plenty of availability on the following courses:

SMSTS Refresher – 17th & 18th August

UKATA Asbestos Awareness – 21st August (AM)

Manual Handling / Working at Height / Abrasive Wheel – 25th August

If you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

12.06.17

Testing Times?

What drama we saw last week with the election! One person who is certainly not pleased with the result is housing minister Gavin Barwell, who lost his seat in Croydon Central to Labour candidate Sarah Jones.

The result left construction uncertain about future policies as Theresa May’s promise of “strong and stable” government turned weak and wobbly.

Greg Hill, Deputy Chief Executive at house builder Hill said: “No business likes uncertainty and housebuilders like it least of all.

“This hung parliament and the horse-trading that will take place over housing policy to get a coalition in place means that many housebuilders will hit the pause button on their investment decisions.

“This is the exact wrong moment for a construction slow down. The country needs new homes desperately.

“We hope that the negotiations are concluded rapidly so that the new government is in place and ready to work with the sector to go out and get building.”

In construction news this week…

Cricket chiefs plan major upgrade for the Oval. Surrey CCC is planning to make the Kia Oval the largest cricket stadium in the UK with a capacity of 40,000.

Fears grow over UK economy as manufacturing and construction stumble. Manufacturing and construction sectors performed poorly in April.

London City office plan resurrected. Developer Fairplay Estates is seeking planning permission for a new 315,000 sq ft office building at the edge of the City of London high-rise cluster.

In MECsafe news this week…

We still have plenty of availability on the following courses:

SSSTS – 15th & 16th June 2017

UKATA Asbestos Awareness – 19th June 2017

SMSTS Refresher – 22nd & 23rd June 2017

If you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

15.05.17

Click here to get the latest!

The head of Europol has warned that the threat from the cyber attack that crippled international services “will continue to grow” as people return to work on Monday. Since Friday’s breach more than 200,000 victims – including the NHS – across 150 countries have been infected by the Wanna Decryptor ransomware, also known as WannaCry.

Today, Labour will promise an extra 37 billion for the NHS and pledge to remove a million people from NHS waiting lists today. The Tories are talking about workers’ rights, including new rights for those who have to leave work to care for family members, or experience child bereavement, a greater stake for workers in their companies, and a commitment to continue increasing the National Living Wage. While the LibDems say they would get rid of the public sector pay cap.

Emmanuel Macron has promised to restore France’s global standing, as he was inaugurated as the country’s youngest president at the age of 39.

In construction news this week…

Nominate your construction heroes now. There is less than a month left to nominate potential winners of this year’s Construction Enquirer Awards.

Hunt for £250m London concert hall design team. City of London Corporation has started the search for a design team to work up concept plans for a world-class concert hall in London.

Hero Keltbray worker steps in to save commuter. A Keltbray machine driver turned have-a-go-hero this week when a raging commuter confronted a woman at London’s Liverpool Street Station.

In MECsafe news this week…

We still have plenty of availability on the following courses:

SSSTS (Supervisors) – 18th & 19th May

Health & Safety Awareness – 24th May (ask us about completing your CSCS test on the same day)!

CCNSG – 25th & 26th May

SSSTS Refresher – 26th May (book before your current cert expires to save time and money)!

If you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.