William Shakespeare, Sonnets:
“How like a winter hath my absence been,
From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!
What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!
What old December’s bareness everywhere!”
During December, we continued where we left off at the end of November, with more new and updated content. We published seven more standard documents on boundary walls and excavations under the Party Wall Act 1996 and new practice notes on the ACE Agreements and the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 (NIP 2011). There was a toolkit on bribery and corruption and one on health and safety. We also revised our notes on the CIC Consultants’ Contract and the FIDIC Sub-contract 2011.
There may have been only one reported adjudication judgment during December from the TCC, but November’s judgment in PPL v Corinthian generated comment on the stay of execution and interest aspects. In addition, as the month came to a close, Jackson LJ gave a lead judgment in the Court of Appeal reversing a TCC finding on an adjudicator’s apparent bias.
We also saw the courts consider a number of other issues, including section 2(1) of the Misrepresentation Act 1967 and limitation and what is a signature for the purpose of the Statute of Frauds 1677? (and see our comment on guarantees after this judgment). There was also debate on contract interpretation and rectification following Daventry DC v Daventry & District Housing Ltd.
Public procurement is never far from the news, and it was on the agenda again in December, with the government’s call for evidence on its review of PFI, new procurement thresholds for 2012 (in Europe and at home) and comment on the alternatives to PPP and PFI.
December also saw new guidance on the VAT treatment of design and build contracts, a sustainability consultation, comment on Building Information Modelling (BIM) and a note explaining the differences between a letter of intent and a PCSA.
Finally, if you have a few spare minutes, why not take our Christmas quiz and see whether you are a star performer (or a spanner in the works!).
PLC Construction wishes you a merry Christmas and a happy new year.
