Here are the top 5 for October:
- The Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance (Amendment) (No 2) Regulations 2024 were intended to came into force on 01 October 2024, but the draft Regulations on the government website reveals that they are now due to come into force on 01 March 2025; so here is a look forward to next Spring. If passed, the Regulations will amend The Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017. Schedule 2 is added to the 2017 Regulations, requiring reporting on retentions: The Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2024. Not all companies are caught by the Regulations: the government guidance says: “on their last 2 balance sheet dates, they exceeded 2 or all of the thresholds for qualifying as a medium-sized company under the Companies Act 2006 (section 465(3)).” https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-payment-practices-and-performance-reporting-requirements/duty-to-report-guidance-to-reporting-on-payment-practices-and-performance.
2. Butt joints and butt welds may sound like types of cosmetic surgery but are in fact types of welds. It is the first anniversary of the HSE notice about testing processes being vulnerable to tampering: Radiograph duplication and falsification – Safety notice – HSE. Given the importance of welding in key installations such a nuclear power stations, this remains a must read for anyone in critical structures construction or maintenance and for expert witnesses in the field. One of the writer’s earliest cases involved proving that a sintering furnace cut up for transportation and sent to Russia, could be successfully rewelded. For a while, a butt weld sample served as an unusual coaster on the writer’s desk.
3. Straying now into the realm of our planning department, a review of challenges against major infrastructure projects was published on 28 October. The review refers to the 1998 Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters, known as the Aarhus Treaty. A copy of the treaty is here: cep43e.pdf The review is here: Independent review into legal challenges against Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects – GOV.UK. It is a tricky balancing act to weigh the convention rights against the desire to get on with Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP). In essence the issue is NSIP-v- NIMBY (here the backyard being the environment rather than the area immediately impacted by the NSIP). For planning enquiries, please contact my colleague Jude.Rodriges@daviesandpartners.com
4. On 22 October the government announced that the new National Energy System Operator (NESO) is to produce a strategic plan in 2026: Strategic plan for long-term energy infrastructure – GOV.UK. The aim is to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and into greater use of renewable energy. On 31 October the writer attended the online launch of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UK NZCBS), a great example of what the UK construction industry can produce by working together. UK NCBS is asking for registrations of interest for pilot projects. This is for existing, part completed and new build projects. If you have a project you would like considered, the registration link is here: Pilot Version | UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard. Congratulations to all involved in this initiative, which must have involved some burning of the midnight oil by people with already very busy work lives.
5. MP, Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest) is proposing the Domestic Building Works (Consumer Protection) Bill (“the Bill”). The Bill was first read on 21 October. If passed, it will introduce licensing for builders providing domestic building works. The aim is to protect consumers and to promote fair competition among reputable builders. Sanctions would apply for breaches including fines, loss of licence and payment of compensation to consumers. It is a while before the second reading – 24 March 2025.
The only text of the Bill we have found is here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-02/0038/210038.pdf
As this relates to 2021 and currently the Bill is for the 2024-2025 session, we cannot be sure this is the current version. The related UK Parliament publications pages states: “There are no publications for this Bill yet. This can often happen in an early stage of a Bill, when it has not been fully drafted.” Domestic Building Works (Consumer Protection) Bill publications – Parliamentary Bills – UK Parliament
Our construction unit works for all parts of the construction industry, including consumers experiencing issues with their homes. Domestic building disputes cause stress and take time and family resources to resolve. The problems with the current route to redress were considered by HHJ Stephen Davies in The Sky’s the Limit Transformations Ltd v Mirza [2022] EWHC 29 (TCC), which involved a 5 day trial over a works to house in Bolton. https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/TCC/2022/29.pdf
HHJ Davies said “It is of course the function of the court to resolve disputes where the parties are unable to do so. However, I am acutely aware that, as so often occurs in this type of case, the outcome will likely be a financial disaster for one of the parties and, even if not, likely an expensive and ultimately unrewarding result for both”. In paragraphs 6 – 9 of the judgement HHJ Davies suggests a process and costs capping for this type of case. It is well worth a read.
On balance we would welcome a licensing scheme to better align pre-contract checks for domestic projects with the sort of due diligence done for commercial projects. In commercial projects, suppliers have to show their credentials and insurance details as part of the tendering process and security is taken for proper performance where the contractor (or indeed the client) may not be able to pay damages for breach of contract.
If you have any questions about these or other construction matters, please contact Jan Grimshaw on 07702 846850 or jan.grimshaw@daviesandpartners.com
