New levy applies to qualifying residential developments in England from 1 October 2026 The Building Safety Levy has now come into operation in England, marking another significant change to the regulatory and cost landscape for residential construction. Introduced under the Building Safety Act, the Levy is intended to raise funds towards addressing historic building safety defects across England. It applies to certain new residential developments and is collected through the building control process rather than through the planning system. For businesses across the masonry supply chain, the Levy is primarily a matter for developers and those responsible for qualifying building control applications. However, its potential impact on project viability, development costs, procurement and construction programmes makes it an important development for the wider industry to understand. What is the Building Safety Levy? The Building Safety Levy is a charge on

A major milestone for the Masonry Association of Great Britain just 18 months after launch The Masonry Association of Great Britain (MAGB) is celebrating a major milestone after its CEO, Eve Livett, was named in the Membership World Top 100 – recognising the most influential people working across the membership organisation sector. Eve was officially recognised at the Membership World Top 100 Awards ceremony, where she was placed 48th in the Top 100 – an incredible achievement for both Eve personally and the Masonry Association of Great Britain. And perhaps what makes the recognition even more significant is just how young the Association is. MAGB has been established for just 18 months. In that short time, the Association has grown from a new organisation with a vision for the future of masonry into an increasingly influential voice representing businesses right

New rules coming into force on 1 October 2026 will extend Right to Work responsibilities beyond traditional employees — with important implications for the construction and masonry sector. From 1 October 2026, changes to the UK Right to Work Scheme will come into effect, extending the responsibilities placed on businesses to include certain workers, individual subcontractors and other non-traditional working arrangements. For the masonry sector, where subcontracting and labour-only arrangements are commonplace, these changes are particularly important. What is changing? Currently, businesses have a legal responsibility to carry out Right to Work checks on people they directly employ. From 1 October, the scope of the scheme is being widened. The new arrangements will cover: Individuals engaged under a worker’s contract Individual subcontractors Certain workers engaged through online matching services Some subcontracting arrangements where responsibility can extend further up the contractual