The Bribery Act 2010 is expected to come into force in April 2011. It completely overhauls the UK’s fragmented and antiquated anti-corruption regime, replacing it with a modern and comprehensive one, fit for use in today’s global market. Notwithstanding the current cloud of apprehension, the message is clear: be prepared and be corrupt free.
In construction, the employer is usually more fearful that the contractor will go bust than vice versa, hence the whole panoply of security that usually surrounds a construction contract, such as bonds and parent company guarantees.
However, occasionally the boot is on the other foot, particularly if the employer is in straitened financial circumstances or is perhaps a new company with no trading record. In these circumstances, an escrow account may be used.
Last year I wrote about the Scottish judgment of WH Malcolm Ltd and Lady Smith’s finding that the adjudicator’s views on a particular issue (SMM7) were not part of her decision, they were just part of her reasons.
Just before Christmas, Akenhead J looked at a very similar issue in Redwing v Wishart. Continue reading
Traditional procurement has come under scrutiny recently and has acquired a poor reputation in some quarters. It is accused of being adversarial, inefficient and fragmented. It is even suggested that lawyers recommending a traditional procurement route may be negligent! Some would have us believe that the grass is greener elsewhere, but I am sceptical.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson:
“Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true.”
At the start of the new year, PLC Construction has been reflecting on events in 2010 and looking forward to 2011. Continue reading
Two years ago I asked the question, “Will the dawn of the new year bring any changes to the construction industry, or will it be more of the same?”.
Over the last two years we have seen significant changes, with the on-going recession resulting in a number of high-profile insolvencies, the first coalition government since the war and the biggest cuts to public spending in decades. I thought that we would see a continued squeeze on cash flow, and an ever-increasing number of disputes. I wasn’t wrong. With the public spending cuts only just starting to bite, now is just the beginning of even more belt-tightening and, as ever, more fall-out in the construction industry. On the plus side, Crossrail and the 2012 Olympic building programme are proceeding and the Olympics at least, is on time. Continue reading
