Daily briefing
National Construction News briefing: Wednesday 21 October 2026
15 stories from the last 24 hours, two dates for the week ahead and five closing dates from our recent stories.
Stories from the last 24 hours
CITB moves tower crane standards into phase five of plant training overhaul
Three tower crane operator standards and the crane/lifting operations supervisor standard have moved from phase four to phase five, leaving Appointed Person as the only standard launching on 27 October.
Muse re-appointed to Pagabo developer-led framework as four council schemes progress
The regeneration developer secured its place on the second-generation National Framework for Developer-Led Schemes through the Morgan Sindall Consortium, as schemes in Wolverhampton, Bradford, Stevenage and Gateshead progress through the route.
NEF and National Retrofit Hub co-design six metrics to measure retrofit value beyond carbon
The National Energy Foundation has worked with the National Retrofit Hub and Jo Taylor Consulting on a framework that measures health, comfort, wellbeing and access to impartial advice alongside bill and carbon savings.
Government publishes Construction Jobs Plan with 40,000 placements a year and ten industry pledges
The Industrial Strategy Construction Jobs Plan restates the 100,000-a-year opportunities ambition, sets out ten industry commitments and promises a new apprenticeship network for smaller firms.
Galvanizer fined £566,666 after chain failure sent molten zinc wave over worker
HSE found the chains lifting a near three-tonne steel beam at Wedge Group Galvanizing's Crediton plant were damaged, uninspected and overloaded when they failed, leaving a 33-year-old worker with 40 per cent burns.
Sprinkler installers face mandatory refresher training to renew SKILLcard from June 2027
BAFSA and SKILLcard have announced that experienced fire sprinkler installers will need an industry-approved refresher qualification and an accredited CPD programme before renewing their cards from 1 June 2027.
Wills Bros lined up for £220m A9 Pitlochry to Killiecrankie dualling contract
Transport Scotland has named Wills Bros Civil Engineering as preferred bidder for the fifth A9 dualling section, a 6.4km stretch with nine bridges, giving the contractor two consecutive sections of the route.
Larkfield Leisure Centre pool switches from gas to heat pumps under £1.16m PSDS grant
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council's busiest pool has moved off gas-fired boilers after air source heat pumps backed by a £1,164,760 Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant were installed at the Aylesford site.
Jack Cook steps down as G4C national co-chair after seven years with network
Constructing Excellence has opened applications for a new national co-chair of its young professionals network G4C after Jack Cook announced he is leaving the role, the second change at the top since March 2025.
Willmott Dixon completes £15.6m bus depot electrification at Hyde Road and Oldham
The contractor has installed 138 EV chargers and a private high-voltage substation for Transport for Greater Manchester, taking its depot electrification programme for the Bee Network to seven schemes worth £40m.
TrustMark names Guy Thompson as chief executive as scheme provider consultation nears close
The government-endorsed quality scheme has announced a new chief executive a week before its consultation on reshaping its Scheme Provider model and fees closes on 27 October.
Galliford Try wins second Pagabo framework place in three weeks with £5bn major works deal
The contractor has secured lots covering the South West, South East, London and Scotland on Pagabo's four-year National Framework for Major Works, weeks after winning 82 lots on the procurement body's civils framework.
RICS and CIH Housing Academy pair up on social housing qualification route for surveyors
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has told members that chartered status alone will not satisfy the Competence and Conduct Standard, and has opened access to CIH Housing Academy qualifications and top-up modules.
Network Rail opens second consultation on Standedge to Gledholt rail upgrade
Network Rail will consult again from 3 November on Transpennine Route Upgrade works between Standedge and Gledholt in Huddersfield, with a Transport and Works Act Order application now planned for spring 2027.
CPA publishes industry guidance on cantilevered crane loading platforms
The Construction Plant-hire Association's crane groups have badged and published a Conquip-written document covering selection, installation, operation, inspection and de-rigging of temporary cantilevered crane-loaded platforms on high-rise sites.
This week
RICS UK Awards
Takes place on Thursday 22 October.
NHBC Pride in the Job Awards
Takes place on Friday 23 October.
Closing soon
That consultation runs until 21 October.
Public-sector buyers have 121 construction works tenders closing on Find a Tender between 9 and 22 October 2026, with the 105 single contracts that carry an estimate valued at £431.0 million in total, according to Cabinet Office open data.
TrustMark's own consultation on its Scheme Provider model closes on 27 October 2026.
Largest construction works tenders closing 16 to 29 October 2026
NOCN Group has opened a new round of its Foundation's Skills Innovation Grant programme, offering grants of £500 to £15,000 for pilot training projects, with applications closing on 15 December and a webinar for applicants on 3 November.
About this briefing
Published on weekday mornings. Every item comes from a story National Construction News has already published and checked against its sources, from dates organisers have published, or from our data trackers. See the events and awards calendar, or get the week's stories by email with the weekly newsletter.