Balfour Beatty has joined the High Speed Rail Group (HSRG), adding one of the UK’s largest design-and-build contractors to an organisation that advocates for high-speed rail policy and delivery across schemes such as HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail. The move brings Tier 1 experience in complex rail civils, including bored tunnels, long-span viaducts and high-speed trackbed formation, directly into HSRG’s technical and policy work. For geotechnical and civil engineers, this signals closer contractor input into standards, constructability, and value engineering on future high-speed corridors.

A Ten Minute Rule Bill introduced by a backbench MP in the House of Commons seeks to overhaul how personal protective equipment is specified, designed and procured across the public sector, including for construction and infrastructure works. The proposal targets inclusive PPE sizing and fit for women and smaller-bodied workers, rather than relying on scaled-down male templates, and would place duties on contracting authorities to require compliant kit in framework and project tenders. If adopted, it could force revisions to site safety policies, supplier frameworks and risk assessments where ill-fitting PPE currently compromises protection and task performance.

Scotland will not support new nuclear projects, with ministers rejecting small modular reactors and fusion as “unproven” and “experimental” and instead prioritising capital for onshore and offshore wind, solar and marine renewables. The policy stance signals future grid and civil works centred on high-penetration variable generation, storage and transmission upgrades rather than nuclear-grade foundations, containment structures and cooling water infrastructure. Developers can expect planning and funding levers to favour large offshore wind arrays, repowering of existing wind farms and associated port, cable route and substation construction.