Editor’s comment
Is PFI about to be reborn?
In the absence of any obvious alternative, the once discredited Private Finance Initiative looks like being revived to support ambitious infrastructure investment plans, Editor Nick Barrett says.
News
This month’s news roundup includes a warning that projects could be impacted by escalating insolvencies which are anticipated over the coming year, an update on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and details of a lawsuit brought by the Official Receiver against collapsed contractor Carillion’s auditor, KPMG.
Legal terms explained
Alice Pickthall of Herbert Smith Freehills LLP explains penalty clauses.
Guest editor
What construction lawyers will be talking about for the rest of 2022
Guest Editors Will Buckby and Tom Howell of Beale & Company Solicitors LLP ask what the ‘new normal’ will look like for construction. The industry has shown great resilience during the past two Covid years but should continue to expect the unexpected, they warn.
Legislation state of play table
Our regular update of the progress of legislation and new regulations as it passes through the legislative process, prepared by Construction Law staff writers. News editor Steve Dale provides a commentary on a key issue.
Reports from the courts
Our regular round up of the court decisions of most interest to construction comes from Andrew Croft and Ben Spannuth of Beale & Company Solicitors LLP who look at a dispute between a houseowner and a builder that highlights the importance of parties ensuring strict compliance with the payment and termination provisions in contracts; and another where the decision stands as a reminder of the importance of having a clear contract in writing and for careful and timely invoicing.
Analysis
The bill for cladding scandal to hit pockets hard
The entire construction supply chain is in the sights of a Housing Secretary determined to make them pay for righting the cladding scandal that caused 72 deaths in the Grenfell disaster. Nick Barrett reports that the measures Michael Gove is considering could backfire if they drive companies into liquidation.
CL guides
Liquidated Damage
The latest in our Construction Law Guides series comes from Jennifer Price-Thomas of DLA Piper who explains how liquidated damages work.
Contracts
The prevention principle
Lucinda Hill and James Doe of HSF examine the prevention principle which although seldom invoked due to the extensive use of extension of time provisions in construction contracts, could be affected by developments in offshore and shipbuilding.
Technology
Protocols aim to reduce Golden Thread uncertainty
Forthcoming legislation will require enhanced attention to information management along the construction supply chain, a ‘Golden Thread’ of information. Andrew Croft of Beale & Company Solicitors, May Winfield of consulting engineer Buro Happold and Simon Lewis of Womble Bond Dickinson report on two new information protocols designed to reduce related legal uncertainty.
Frameworks
New Cabinet Office review of frameworks
Andrew Croft and Kevin Henderson of Beale & Company Solicitors LLP cast their eye over the recently published Cabinet Office commissioned review of construction frameworks that advised how they could achieve a ‘Gold Standard’. Employers might use it to push harder for an unfair risk-share with the project delivery team, they caution.
Procurement
Public procurement must change to support climate change battle
Public sector suppliers are aware that they need to adapt to support the climate change effort, but the public sector itself has to change procurement practices if their efforts are to result in tendering success, warn David Hansom and Hannah Chapelhow of Clyde & Co.
Insurance
Employer’s non-negligence insurance
Our insurance expert John D Wright of JD Risk Associates highlights some issues with Employer’s non-negligence insurance, warning that as minor works can result in major damage to adjoining properties and care must be taken to select an appropriate indemnity limit.
Alternative dispute resolution
Arbitration Act’s 25th anniversary: an opportunity for wider reform
In our latest Alternative Dispute Resolution series article Tracey Summerell of Dentons UK and Middle East LLP argues that the current Arbitration Act review is an opportunity ask how the Act could promote fairness, equality, transparency and access to justice as well as legal and technical excellence.