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SCALE AND COMPOSITION:
– Value of construction new work peaked at £119,087 million in 2019, dropping to £99,651 million in 2020.
– New housing comprised £37,755 million of new work, infrastructure £22,517 million, and private commercial building £24,614 million.
– Public sector work accounted for 26% by value of new work in 2020.
– Construction sector employed around 2.1 million workers in Great Britain in 2020.
– Over a third of construction businesses in 2020 were located in London and south east England.

INDUSTRY STRATEGY:
– Productivity in construction remains below the UK average and has changed little in the past 50 years.
– UK government has published reports and strategies to improve efficiency, including the Latham Report, Egan Report, and Farmer Review.
– Industrial strategies like Construction 2025 and subsequent updates aim to enhance the sector.
– High Speed 2 rail line construction is the largest project in the UK as of 2022.
– Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions and challenges in the industry.

HEALTH AND SAFETY:
– Construction accounted for 39 of the 142 work fatalities reported in 2021-22.
– Half of deaths over a five-year period were due to falls from height.
– Constructions fatal injury rate is around four times higher than the all industry rate.
– Around 1.8% of construction workers reported musculoskeletal disorders.
– Construction workers have a higher rate of musculoskeletal disorders compared to workers across all industries.

REFERENCES:
– Briefing Paper: Construction industry: statistics and policy by Chris Rhodes.
– National Accounts Estimates of Main Aggregates by United Nations Statistics Division.
– Construction statistics, Great Britain: 2020 by Office for National Statistics.
– Construction industry just 12.5% women and 5.4% BAME according to GMB Union.
– Productivity in the construction industry, UK: 2021 by Office for National Statistics.

ECONOMIC IMPACT:
– Construction industry accounted for 11% of UK company insolvencies in 2023.
– Rising inflation and interest rates affected businesses in the construction sector.
– The largest construction project in the UK is the High Speed 2 rail line.
– Prior to completion, Crossrail was Europe’s biggest construction project.
– Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic led to uncertainties and challenges in the industry.