Bidding burden must come down

A recently published survey of bidding costs among the UK’s contractors and consultants makes for some worrying reading. That the costs are high and rising is widely appreciated within the industry but to see the extent of the problem spelled out will be a shock to some.

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Rumblings in the procurement jungle

Something must be bad in the world of public sector procurement when politicians are waking up to the fact that something needs to be done about it. Much has been said – and even more observed – about the poor management skills that seem to underpin much of the public sector’s procurement management, but little seems to get done, so any signs of activity among politicians are to be welcomed.

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Late payments regulator on the way?

The perennial late payments problem has been getting a lot of attention recently with news from the government that it is considering new laws including giving trade bodies the right to tackle abuses (see news).

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An imperfectly expert system

Shock headlines about a report late last year ran along the lines of ‘Lawyers push experts to favour clients.’

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Rocky road to revolution ahead

Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent pledge of a ‘roads revolution’ was a welcome sign that the government has woken up to the need to replace and improve much of the UK’s infrastructure.

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Contract suspension passes the test

Infrastructure investment may be about to take off to levels not seen in the UK for many years, but the construction industry can vouch for the fact that the much trumpeted increased workloads are nowhere to be seen yet.

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Tidal wave of work might overturn the boat

Contractor insolvency is a perennial problem in the construction industry and the topic generates a regular flow of articles for CL, such as one by Ebony Alleyne on p 17 of this issue. Many contractors may still be tendering at negative margins and could possibly be just one major dispute away from the brink, she warns.

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GoCo promises end to stop-go on roads

Legislation to transform the Highways Agency from April next year into a government owned company – a GoCo – was set out in the Infrastructure Bill in April, creating a legal framework for the new entity to oversee England’s strategic roads network.

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Hold onto your Panama hats

The Arcadis survey of construction disputes has been running for four years, and the latest survey shows no sign that the global market for construction lawyers is slowing down.

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Clients get new safety focus

Health and safety is a perennial problem in the construction industry, but one that the industry’s leading players have been giving serious attention to.

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