Author Archives: Contributor

Lord Andrew Stunell is the Liberal Democrat spokesman on the construction industry When Grenfell Tower burned, killing 72 people and ruining the lives of hundreds more, it marked a tragic end to decades of falling fatalities in house fires in England. That steady decline in fire deaths was highlighted in…

New starts on site have yet to fully rebound, but the volume of contracts signed in April signals a brighter future, according to analysis excerpted from the May 2021 edition of The Glenigan Construction Review

James Worthington is a partner in the Construction, Engineering and Projects team at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys Since the tragic events of the Grenfell Tower fire, cladding claims have become increasingly common. The Technology and Construction Court (TCC) recently considered a strike-out application in the case of Naylor v…

David Young is an associate at law firm CMS A recent decision by the Technology & Construction Court (TCC), in the case of Mott MacDonald Ltd v Trant Engineering Ltd, centred on the interpretation of general exclusions and limitations of liability – an area where prior cases have left conflicting…

Mark Eggleston is managing director and owner of timber specialist WJ Group When it comes to choosing suitable building materials, fire-retardant timber can be up there with the most complex items to specify. The task is not helped by confusing explanations that even the best timber traders struggle to understand.…

Lisa Kingston is managing director of legal services firm In-House Law Brexit has brought changes to the recruitment and immigration landscape that will have huge knock-on effects in construction, hampering the sector’s ability to recruit and retain appropriate labour. Upcoming deadlines this summer will only exacerbate skills shortages, and may…

Poor connectivity has remained a thorn in the side of the construction sector – it remains one of the major barriers to full ‘digital adoption’. Every site needs internet access these days, but getting a cabled connection can be fraught with difficulty and delay, and on some remote projects it…

Beth Fryer is legal counsel at engineering consultancy Atkins In December 2020, the government published its Construction Playbook, a policy document setting out how central government expects public bodies to procure, value and deliver public works projects. The playbook’s approach is mandatory for contracting authorities and arm’s length bodies (although…

Juliette Enser is the senior director of cartels at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Few industries are as crucial to a dynamic UK economy as construction, which is one of the reasons why the CMA has taken strong action to root out rogue cartels from the sector. With infrastructure…

Alan Kennedy is an associate at law firm Womble Bond Dickinson Issues with visas and increased red tape look set to price migrant workers out of the employment market, following the UK’s departure from the European Union. The fees linked to employing migrant workers from the European Economic Area (EEA)…