The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the House of Commons public spending watchdog, has produced another scathing report about the lack of commercial skills in the public sector. The civil service doesn’t place much value on commercial expertise, the MPs say, which has always been recognised by clever career civil servants who know they should take other paths if they want to advance.
Blog and Comment
Infrastructure red flags ignored
How serious is the government about its regularly repeated commitment to the large scale infrastructure investment that commentators agree is vital to securing the UK’s economic future?
Action looms on Protocol
The Construction and Engineering Pre-Action Protocol, or PAP for short, has been with us for 15 years, designed to help parties either avoid litigation completely or hone in on areas of contention ahead of appearances in the Technology and Construction Court (TCC). Time and cost savings would result from this mandatory procedure, it was expected.
A risk worth taking?
A new year always brings some new problems, although the focus is usually still on the old problems left unsolved from the previous years. Infrastructure procurement is a perennial issue for the UK, but there are some new moves being made to address the issues.
Unfair definition needed
The problems of late payment and unfair contract terms and practices are felt as painfully in construction as in any other industry, perhaps more so; no other industry has yet had to have its contracts governed by legislation as construction does under the Construction Act, or had adjudication imposed on it in a bid to unfreeze a large proportion of the industry’s cash flow.
Speedy litigation on trial
Cheaper and faster dispute resolution through the courts is the promise being held out by two trials currently under way in the Technology and Construction Court (TCC).
Squaring the corruption circle
The World Bank is not an institution with a reputation for being a leading light in much outside banking, although it is acknowledged as being well stocked with very bright and highly educated people. One of its economists has just hit the headlines for providing a new proof of Pythagoras’ theorem – the one about isosceles triangles (check Wikipedia if you need to know more).
Contract administration not good enough?
Some good news for UK construction comes out of the latest Arcadis survey of disputes worldwide, the fifth in an annual series. The survey finds that parties to UK construction contracts are proving to be more willing to negotiate settlements to disputes before they reach court and the courts are managing to control the costs of those actions that go ahead.
Rising tide might sink late payment culture
It will probably surprise few to read in news this month that construction suffers more from the bugbear of late payments than any other industry; and smaller firms in the industry suffer worst of all. Waiting 80 days has not been unusual for many years, and the latest survey suggests delays of up to 107 days.
Professions need to change
A report has just been published on ‘the future of professionalism’ in construction (see news). ‘Collaboration for Change’ is in fact about the future of the professions; contractors and materials and product suppliers are outside the scope of the report and would be injured at the suggestion there was no professionalism in the industry outside the ranks of architects, engineers and surveyors.