Procurement – Covid-19

Planning reform proposals set out to speed up consents

Key elements of the planning regime for major infrastructure need reviewing to help modernise and speed up the sometimes onerous process of gaining consent for projects, according to a new paper from the National Infrastructure Planning Association.

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Collaboration targeted through southern rail contracts

Network Rail is seeking to achieve a step change to how railway works are delivered in its southern region through the adoption of Project 13’s principles of collaboration under a new contracts arrangement worth up to £9.6Bn.

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Fine issued after worker suffers football stadium fall

A construction firm has been fined after a worker fell 11 metres down a stairwell at a football stadium in Hertfordshire when the concrete floor he was working on collapsed, suffering partial paralysis.

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Covid insolvency protections lifted

Temporary legislation placing restrictions on statutory demands and winding up petitions has been lifted this week following its introduction last year to help protect firms from insolvency during the Covid-19 crisis. A “fairly immediate” increase in the number of construction firms entering insolvency is now expected, according to lawyers.

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Continued tender inflation sparks disputes warning

Tender prices in construction are continuing to surge against a backdrop of rising client demand, material price increases and reduced labour availability according to Turner & Townsend’s latest UK market intelligence report, with one lawyer warning that insolvencies and disputes are likely to follow.

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Heavy fine for Britcon after falling pile strikes worker

Contractor Britcon has been fined £570,000 for safety breaches after a worker was struck and seriously injured by a falling load from a mechanical excavator at a site in Scarborough in 2018.

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Call to replace benefit-cost ratios for infrastructure schemes

Government must overhaul the current benefit-cost ratio method of appraising major infrastructure projects and should establish a formal duty to report to Parliament for ‘intense scrutiny’ where schemes exceed cost or time ceilings during delivery, a new report urges.

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Building boss banned for negligent record keeping

The director of an Arbroath based construction business has been disqualified for seven years after failing to explain more than £700,000 worth of expenditure to tax authorities after the firm was wound up in 2019.

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Arrests made in London over modern slavery in construction

Thirteen people have been arrested in police raids in connection with the recruitment and trafficking of Romanian nationals to work as unskilled labourers on construction sites in the Kingsbury area of north London.

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Construction product verification scheme launched

A new Code for Construction Product Information and associated guidance have been published to help tackle “disingenuous” marketing practices and the provision of “misleading” information by manufacturers, which have come to light in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire. One lawyer welcomed the code, but raised questions over its enforceability and emphasised a need for contractors to remain vigilant.

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