Blog Author: Chiara Pieri – Senior Associate, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP  “There must be a ‘cash flow’ in the building trade. It is the very lifeblood of the enterprise.” So observed Lord Denning MR over fifty years ago in Dawnays Ltd v F.G. Minter Ltd [1971] 1 WLR 1205 – words as pertinent today as then. It is precisely the issue of cash flow and its systematic disruption by late payment practices that the Government’s reforms now seek to address. In March 2026, the Government…

Blog Author: Natalie Pilagos – Construction Partner, Wedlake Bell Introduction The construction industry is undergoing a transformative shift with the implementation of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA). As part of these reforms, the BSA introduced a regime that seeks to strengthen pre-existing enforcement powers and introduces new enforcement tools. In the Enforcement Policy Statement (EPS) published in December 2023, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) indicates that enforcement of the BSA, The Building Act 1984 (BA) and associated regulations reflects its overall aim to transform…

Blog Author: Sarah Elliott – Partner, Wedlake Bell In August 2023, the government finally published the secondary legislation that will bring the design and construction requirements of the higher-risk building (“HRB“) regime under the Building Safety Act 2022 into force, on 1 October 2023. This is the date originally planned by the government for implementation but clearly there is now limited time for those involved in HRB developments, to get to grips with the legal requirements.  The Health & Safety Executive has also published a…

Blog Author: Graeme Young, Partner and Kirsti McKenzie, Associate – CMS On 6 December 2021, the Cabinet Office published its plans for transforming public procurement rules post-Brexit. The plans involve introducing primary legislation to Parliament in the form of the Procurement Bill, which will be further implemented through secondary legislation together with ‘a detailed package of published resources (statutory and non-statutory guidance on the key elements of the regulatory framework, templates, model procedures and case studies)’. These reforms were consulted on over a year ago (the Green Paper was…

Blog Author: Michael Haste – Director, Pascall+Watson  Since the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 we have within the construction industry started to see a number of important developments that will ultimately re-shape our industry for many years to come. These will have far-reaching consequences on many of us but may have limited impact on others, but all should expect to see change of one form or another. Grenfell should never have happened and the fact that it did will remain for many years…

Blog Author: Michael O’Connor – Partner, Charles Russell Speechlys LLP Taken with various accompanying measures relating to building safety – such as the Fire Safety Bill currently passing through Parliament, various changes to the Building Regulations and the establishment of funds for the replacement of both ACM and Non-ACM cladding and the cost of waking watches, worth £1.6bn – there is no doubt that the measures comprise the most wide-ranging reforms in building safety for 40 years. Building Safety Regulator Initially confirmed by the Government…