Construction and Planning Update – April 2026 – Top Five

Here are our top five for April 2026:

1. For which relief, much thanks from litigators!

Litigators will welcome the relief from Mr. Justice Picken confirming that:

“legal advice privilege applies to any intra-client document which is sent between or created by members of the “client group” for the dominant purpose of seeking legal advice.”

This means legal “intra-client” communications can be privileged (i.e., not disclosable to the opponent) even when a lawyer is not involved in the communication. It is particularly helpful when companies are marshalling information and preparing instructions to seek legal advice before or during litigation.

Mr. Justice Picken stated that, it would not make sense for:

“legal advice privilege not to apply to intra-client documents whose dominant purpose is to identify facts that the client proposes to communicate to a lawyer for the purpose of seeking legal advice, but where the document itself is not intended to be sent to the lawyer.”

Further the judge gave some examples of the intra-client communication and documents that might enjoy legal privilege:

“An example might be a client, the day before he or she is due to meet his lawyer for the first time, writing himself or herself a memorandum with notes for the meeting. Another example might be one member of the client group, who will not be attending the meeting with the lawyer, emailing another member of the client group with information or thoughts in preparation for the meeting.”

The key takeaway from this judgement is that gathering information to seek legal advice can enjoy legal privilege. It is helpful to label relevant intra-client group communications and documents “for the purposes of seeking legal advice”. Note that it is important to understand and identify the client group, as the privilege does not extend to communications between the client group and third parties to marshall information to pass to lawyers.

Link: to Aabar Holdings S.À.R.L. & Others-V- (1) Glencore Plc (2) Ivan Glasenberg (3) Steven Frank Kalmin FL-2022-000024 – Judgment – Final

2. In hot water over no hot water

Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, principal contractors have a duty to provide particular welfare facilities for construction sites.

Ling Developments Limited pleaded guilty to breaches of Regulation 13 (4)(c) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.

Ling was fined nearly £16,000 for failing to provide adequate welfare provisions to workers at a construction site. This included failure to provide hot or warm water in the toilets and suitable rest facilities for workers.

Link: Construction company fined for repeated site failures – HSE Media Centre

3. No Falls Week – 18 to 22 May 2026

Organised by the No Falls Foundation, a UK based charity dedicated to preventing falls from height, the weeklong campaign is organised to raise awareness and promote safe working at height. 

HSE statistics for the year 2024/25 show that 35 workers died due to a fall from height. 

To register for No Falls Week and to access resources, please follow the link below.  

We encourage readers to access the resources and to encourage all workers to check ladders before using them.  Apprentices may be slow to speak out; empower them to raise concerns and to learn to check for risks in a fall landing area. 

Link: About No Falls Foundation – No Falls Week

4. Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR)

HSE has launched a public consultation on updating RIDDOR. These regulations govern how work-related injuries, ill health and dangerous occurrences are reported to the regulator. 

HSE is also seeking views on simplifying the online RIDDOR reporting form to improve usability and tackle both under-reporting and over-reporting. 

The consultation is open until 30 June 2026. To register your response please follow the link below.

Link: https://consultations.hse.gov.uk/hse/proposals-riddor-2013/

5. Invitation to join in the Gloucester 10K on 28 June 2026

Our directors and staff have been taking part in the Gloucester 10k event for years, contributing to an event that has raised over £100k for local charities. 

We encourage businesses to take part in the corporate challenge. Join in with at least 4 runners. You might see members of the construction unit there; not running but marshalling. 

Let us know if you have signed up, by emailing Jan.Grimshaw@daviesandpartners.com. 

Please follow the link below to register.

Link: Gloucester 10K 2026 – EntryCentral