After the shortest tenure of any British prime minister, Liz Truss resigned last month after just a fleeting 44 days in office. She made the decision following a chaotic chain of events, such as sky-high mortgages, a slump in the pound and the loss of our longest-reigning monarch – which resulted in 10 days of Government activity being paused, making her days in power even briefer. As the pound begins to rise again (at the time of writing) and the public compares Truss' time as PM to that of a wilting, 60p Tesco iceberg lettuce, the nation was, once again, left in a momentary period of uncertainty prior to the succession of Rishi Sunak.

While Truss will be remembered for her impact on housing, specifically for first-time buyers and private renters, many from the construction industry have already stressed that Sunak must act urgently to increase supplies of housing and stabilise interest rates.

Whilst this resignation has resulted in a last-minute change in content plans in this month's edition of FC&A, we continue to bring you the latest news from other areas of the industry. Once again, sustainability runs through the pages of this issue, with a focus on roofing systems. On page 26, Sarah Peake, Sustainability Manager at Sika UK, talks about sustainability regulations and initiatives affecting architects and specifiers and the roofing systems that can meet their requirements.

Elsewhere, turn the page to page 28 to learn more from Ross Finnie, Sales Director at SIG Design & Technology (SIG D&T), about a new type of roof that combines the power-generating benefits of a solar roof with the biodiversity gains of a green roof.

ON THE COVER:
Announced in the Engineering Prize Shortlist for this year’s World Architecture Festival (WAF), the largest built area of Expo 2020 was masterplanned, designed and delivered by Hopkins Architects.

Rebecca Kemp
Editor

rebecca@redhutmedia.com