NEWS
In favour of CITB levy
Recycled K-BRIQ shows a shift in building sustainability
C onstruction employers have voted in favour of the Construction Industry Training Board’s (CITB) proposed levy rates for 2026–2029, allowing the organisation to continue collecting the statutory charge used to fund industry training. This year’s vote saw 67.2 per cent of levy-paying employers support the proposal, while 32.8 per cent opposed it. Among trade bodies, or ‘prescribed organisations’, support was even stronger, with 89.3 per cent (12 out of 14) in agreement. Only the National Federation of Builders and the Finishes and Interiors Sector voted against the plan. Levy rates will remain unchanged at PAYE: 0.35 per cent and CIS subcontractors: 1.25 per cent. Thresholds for exemption and reductions will also rise. Employers with a combined PAYE and CIS payroll below £150,000 will pay no levy, and those between £150,000 and £499,999 will receive a 50 per cent reduction. The vote outcome has been submitted to the Department for Education for formal ratification, after which a new levy order will be issued. CITB Chief Executive Tim Balcon said: “The levy is designed to ensure that construction employers of all sizes feel supported with their skills and training needs. We are really pleased that levy payers continue to be supportive of the levy proposals.” He added that CITB will now focus on delivering its strategic plan, aiming to support at least 35,000 employers and build a “simpler, more responsive skills and training system.”
A pioneering company in East Lothian is turning the construction industry on its head, one recycled brick at a time. Kenoteq’s K-BRIQ, made from recycled construction, demolition and excavation waste, have received full certification for use in the UK. Unlike traditional clay-fired bricks, which rely on high- temperature kilns and fossil fuels, K-BRIQs are made using ultra-low carbon processes, eliminating the need for firing altogether. Instead of discarded waste materials – gravel, brick, stone – being sent to landfill, they are made into a usable brick within 24 hours. Each K-BRIQ contains nearly 100 per cent recycled material and has a carbon
footprint up to 95 per cent lower than conventional bricks. After more than a decade of research at Heriot-Watt University into reducing construction waste, which globally accounts for more than a third of landfill content, the bricks could help to make construction more sustainable. “Our immediate goal is to scale up to two million bricks per year in a single shift,” said Dr Sam Chapman, Co-Founder of Kenoteq. “We believe we can double that as demand increases. But with the UK using around 2.5 billion bricks annually, we’re still a
small drop in the ocean.” The company’s Head of
Business Development, Lucy Black, said: “We’re trying to change the vocabulary of waste – reframing it as a valuable resource, not a problem.”
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Master Builder
www.fmb.org.uk
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