One thing that can be confidently said about the newly announced National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) is that it won’t be funding very much of the procurement of the UK’s national infrastructure.
Blog and Comment
Insurance problems threaten the UK’s future
Insurance has never felt cheap to companies in the construction sector, although many or most of them never took the sort of risk management measures highlighted in our regular insurance articles, so to a large extent often had only themselves to blame if they were paying higher premiums than they need have.
Covid procurement highlights need for reform
Much, if not all, of 2021 will be spent dealing with the fall out of the Covid-19 pandemic, and hopefully learning from the way the UK mobilised its central government procurement systems to combat it. There is much to learn.
Early estimates only part of the procurement problem
The UK’s poor procurement practices are highlighted yet again by the news that the £19bn Crossrail project can’t be completed with the money available to the project. Crossrail should have opened in December 2018 but is currently hoped to be completed by the first half of 2022.
Lowest price obsession hasn’t gone away
The Cabinet Office has announced new measures to deliver social value through public procurement in ‘Taking Account of Social Value in the Award of Central Government Contracts’.
A persuasive influence worth holding on to?
Scotland famously enjoys its own legal system, separate from that of the rest of the UK. Although in commercial law there may be little of major difference between decisions made under Scots law and those that might be reached in England, the principle of a separate and distinct legal system is important to the devolved nation, as it has been to Scotland since the Act of Union of 1707.
Multi-challenges forcing pace on procurement reform
Seldom, if ever, have so many pressures been inflicted on construction at the same time as today. The unpredictable outcome of the UK negotiations to secure trade deals after the current EU deals expire at the end of the year would have been enough on its own to cause consternation in boardrooms across all industries, resulting in investment plans being at best postponed. A no deal Brexit looked like a short odds bet with less than six months to go, with an extension to the UK’s departure unlikely to be requested by a firmly pro Brexit Cabinet.
Straws worth clutching at
Commentators and forecasters across the world are grasping at whatever straws they think they can see for signs of a rebound from the Covid-19 lockdown’s impact on economies.
Delay and disruption battles loom
What a difference a month makes. Four short weeks ago lockdown was in full swing and although some construction sites remained open many were effectively closed; those in Scotland were ordered to close by the Scottish Government.
The paper trail to survival
Confusion still reigned as we went to press over how construction companies should respond to the conflicting messages being issued by governments over whether sites can, or should, or might be able to safely operate.