Procurement – Covid-19

Productivity falls to provoke disputes

Construction sites are experiencing productivity losses of around 35% due to the impacts of Covid-19, triggering extensive programme delays and spiralling costs, according to new research from Turner & Townsend. An uptick in disputes is inevitable, according to one lawyer.

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Temporary insolvency laws raise risk for small firms

Construction companies threated by liquidation due to the Coronavirus crisis are expected to benefit from temporary changes to insolvency law regarding winding-up orders, but smaller suppliers may be negatively impacted by restrictions on statutory demands, according to law firm Eversheds Sutherland.

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Council wins ruling over £800 million PFI waste plant

The Technology and Construction Court has ruled that problems with the operation of the £800 million Private Finance Initiative Tovi Eco Park in Basildon are due to design flaws, as claimed by Essex County Council, rather than the type of waste it processes, as the operator alleged. Some of the design was based on little more than calculations on the back of a fag packet, the Judge said.

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Companies must pay cladding removal costs, MPs say

A call for construction firms to be made to pay for the replacement of dangerous cladding on high risk residential buildings has been described as “laudable” by one senior solicitor, but may not be possible in all cases without drastic legislation.

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Tender prices to shrink post-Covid

Construction contractors will continue to face damaging market volatility throughout 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, with firms competing over a relative lack of new opportunities and tender prices expected to reduce by up to 2.5%, according to market analysis by Mace.

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Consider Covid consequences in bids, lawyers warn

Contractors must take account of how the consequences of Covid-19 will impact on both price and timeframe when bidding for new work, Beale & Company has urged after the Government revealed that up to £37Bn worth of infrastructure and construction contracts will be brought to market over the next year.

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Insolvent firms can adjudicate, Supreme Court rules

The Supreme Court has provided clarity that insolvent companies can refer disputes to adjudication, after a ruling which saw Bresco Electrical Services – in liquidation – succeed in its appeal to adjudicate in a dispute with fellow electrical contractor Michael J Lonsdale.

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News in Brief: 19 June 2020

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick is being pressed to disclose documents relating to his unlawful decision to grant planning permission for the proposed Westferry Printworks development in Tower Hamlets.

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Lead market cartel members face £11 million in fines

Two of the UK’s largest suppliers of rolled lead have admitted taking part in anti-competitive arrangements and could face fines of more than £11 million, it was announced today.

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Scottish sites return to work

Work can now resume on non-essential Scottish construction sites after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gave the industry the green light to proceed to the ‘soft start’ phase of its restart plan on Thursday. The move has been welcomed by the sector as a “huge relief”.

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