The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has launched a mental health in construction consultation.

CLC published this consultation after identifying mental health as a priority focus area at its Health Safety and Wellbeing Summit in July.

As part of CLC’s wider Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategy, the aim of the project is to create an environment that fosters better mental health for the people that work in the UK construction industry.

The CLC held a series of focus groups across England, in partnership with Mates in Mind and the University of Warwick, to identify the primary root causes for poor mental health in construction.

The consultation:

details those root causes and invites industry stakeholders for views on what can be done to eliminate or reduce them

focuses on the measures that the construction industry can take to reduce the future likelihood of poor mental health in the sector

CLC want to hear your views and ambitions for how the industry can collectively come together to reduce or eliminate the challenges colleagues and friends are experiencing across the sector.

Builder sentenced after house collapse injures three workers

A builder has been given a suspended prison sentence after a roof collapse destroyed a home and injured three workers in Windsor.

Jack Savva, 70, was given a 13-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, following the incident on 6 August 2020. Savva, of Wraysbury in Surrey, was carrying out a loft conversion on the property in Springfield Road, when the gable wall fell into the building after the roof was removed.

Two days before the incident, Savva had informed the home owner about work that was required on the chimney breast. He had told them it was incomplete as it had previously been removed from the first floor bathroom and would need to be propped. However, on the day itself, he instructed his workers to remove key supporting timbers and steels, resulting in the collapse of the brick gable wall which struck the workers and destroyed the first floor of the home, which was occupied at the time.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)  found Savva had failed to ensure the structure did not collapse while it was in a state of temporary weakness. He had not taken steps to address the unsupported chimney breast before dismantling the roof, which caused the brick gable to collapse into the work area. He also failed to take all practicable steps to prevent danger to any person while the building was in a temporary state of weakness.

One of the injured workers said: “I still suffer from nightmares of the day of the accident.

“I haven’t slept more than two hours a night over the last four years.”

HSE guidance about managing structural stability during alteration or dismantling advises about temporary bracing and propping being required – particularly if it is known or suspected of being weak. You can read more here: Structural stability during alteration, demolition and dismantling – HSE.

Jack Savva, of Friary Road, Wraysbury, Surrey, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 19(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. He was given a 13-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years and was ordered to pay £2,000 compensation to the home owner, at a hearing before Reading Crown Court on 17 September 2025.

Original Article: https://www.constructionleadershipcouncil.co.uk/news/clc-launches-construction-mental-health-consultation/