Confidence in Construction

The foundations have been stabilised and a lick of paint has been applied. Now the house building sector is ready for viewing - and as far as both investors and corporate bidders are concerned, there are reasons to be optimistic.

The recent increase in the net asset value of most of the big house builders, after house-price rises of almost 10 per cent since April 2009 and a number of equity raisings to clear debt and buy land, has placed the sector back on the radar.

This will be welcomed by all homeowners and construction related businesses.

Poll Status Today

In an election campaign of such surprises and changes, the polls over the past week are a revealing contrast.

After the sharp increase in Liberal Democrat support in the weekend just after the first debate, very little has moved. The Tories went up slightly towards the end of last week, though that progress may now have stalled, Labour has been stuck, while the Lib Dems may have eased a point. But all this is within the margin of error and the usual random movements in all polls.

The overnight batch of polls all put the Tories at about 32 to 34 per cent  (with three out of the four showing a slight fall in Tory support); Labour is at 28 per cent in three long-established polls; and the Lib Dems within a point of 30 per cent.

The order matters a lot for any post-election bargaining.

OGC Supports SME

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has today launched an awareness raising campaign to promote greater access for smaller firms to the £220 billion worth of contract opportunities awarded by the public sector each year. The announcement comes as the OGC publishes the guidance Small Supplier, Big Opportunity: Flagging your contracts to SMEs, showing how the public sector can make it easier for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to identify appropriate contract opportunities.

Throughout 2010, OGC and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), will extend the regional workshops, recently piloted in the North East, to ensure that procurers understand how to effectively implement procurement practices that not only improve the visibility and access to opportunities but also levels the playing field for SMEs to successfully compete for appropriate contracts. These events will include training for regional SMEs on bidding for public sector contracts, regional procurers and the Federation of Small Businesses.

The OGC will also be publishing a series of additional guidance during the year for both the procurement and supplier communities to maximise the opportunities for small firms to deliver both innovative and value for money solutions for the public. This work will complement the online training course "Winning the Contract" launched by BIS and OGC last month and designed to help businesses gain the necessary skills required to bid for public sector contracts.