Contracts on the Clock

Contract management and procurement specialist Carolle Vallee of VaLex Consulting warns that traditional contracts were never designed for programmes where design, procurement and construction happen simultaneously, as they do on hyperscale data centres. Contractual models might be evolving, but can that happen fast enough?

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The Contractor’s Design Risk

Insurance expert John D Wright of JD Risk Associates examines Contractor’s Design Risk policies. Contractors can be exposed to design claims even when not parties to some contracts, he warns.

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ADR’s place in the case management toolkit confirmed

Tracey Summerell of Dentons UK and Middle East LLP finds strong support for ADR in the new edition of the TCC Guide.

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Legal terms explained: Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978

The Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 (Contribution Act) confers a statutory right to recover contribution from any other person who is liable in respect of the same damage.

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Appeal court rules against HS2 tunnel extension

The extension of an HS2 rail tunnel did not have the correct planning permission, the Court of Appeal has ruled. HS2 has already constructed the 5.8km long Bromford Tunnel between Water Orton in Warwickshire and Washwood Heath in Birmingham.

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NHS investment focus switches to long term

The government has published a 10 Year Capital Plan for the health service that promises patients faster access to care, more GP appointments, modern NHS facilities and more services closer to home.

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Government Procurement review ordered

Cabinet Office Minister Chris Ward has ordered a “comprehensive review” of government procurement practices. He said he has been left in no doubt that the UK’s procurement budget is not “punching its weight”.

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News in Brief: August/September 2026

What is thought to be the first geotechnical sub-alliance of its kind in the UK has been launched to deliver specialist geotechnical works for Sizewell C. Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering (BBGE), VSL Systems (UK) Ltd (VSL), and Bachy Soletanche (BSL) have united to deliver a range of specialist ground engineering solutions required for the construction of the 3.2GW nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast.

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DfT and Treasury on naughty step over Northern Powerhouse Rail costing

The most hackneyed sign off from official bodies of all sorts when they have been identified as having screwed up yet again invariably includes a phrase along the lines of “lessons have been learned”. We have all learned of course that little or even nothing seems to have been learned at all and the same miscreants – water companies, police forces, hospital departments etc – are before long back on their naughty stools once again, promising to do better.

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Contractor fined after unsafe working at height ‘physically ruined’ site worker

Principal contractor South East Refurbishment Limited has been fined £90,000 and ordered to pay costs of £27,241 after a man was left ‘physically ruined’ after falling from a tipping bucket on a fork lift truck.

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