Projects And Construction Law Update - April 13, 2016

Please see below Clyde & Co's latest projects and construction law update - a regular review aimed at providing up-to-date information for those in the construction and infrastructure industry.

We look at industry news as well as recent court decisions concerning:

who had the risk of obtaining planning consents under a building contract whether a contractor's valuation constituted a payment application in accordance with the contract when deleted words may be used to interpret a contract a claim for LDs under the FIDIC Yellow Book 'reasonable endeavours' and 'good faith' obligations Industry News

Government BIM mandate and official website from 4 April 2016

The government is mandating building information modelling (BIM) level 2 for all centrally procured government projects from 4 April 2016. This includes an obligation on all government departments to produce a complete set of employer's information requirements (EIRs) for every contract.

The government mandate coincided with the launch of an official BIM level 2 website, hosted by the British Standards Institution (BSI). The website hosts official standards and guidance documents, together with:

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) BIM Protocol. Uniclass (the unified classification for the construction industry). The National Building Specification (NBS) toolkit. Mandating BIM level 2 reflects a long-standing commitment that the government first made in its May 2011 Government Construction Strategy. Government activity after 4 April 2016 is likely to focus on delivering its Digital Built Britain initiative, which aims at achieving BIM level 3. However, one other key date for BIM level 2 is 3 October 2016, by when the government expects all its departments to be capable of electronically validating BIM information received from the supply chain.

Enterprise Bill: Institute for Apprenticeships

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has published a factsheet outlining the measures that will be included in the Enterprise Bill to establish a new body, the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA). The aim is to deliver a "genuinely world-class apprentice programme in the context of the apprenticeship levy", which will support employers to uphold the high quality of apprenticeship standards.

The measures will:

Establish a statutory body for the IfA. Give the IfA powers to undertake quality and approval functions in relation to apprenticeship standards and assessment plans. Require the IfA to appoint a majority of employers to its board, to ensure that it is an employer-led body. Concessions Contracts Regulations 2016 and Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016

The Concessions Contracts Regulations (SI 2016/273) and the Utilities Contracts Regulations (SI 2016/274) will come into force on 18 April 2016.

On 17 March 2016, the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) published PPN Information Note 02/16. The note explains that the new rules for utilities and concession contracts will apply to new procurement exercises commenced on or after 18 April, except to the extent set out in the relevant regulations. The CCS will publish further guidance on the changes shortly.

These regulations represent the final part of the implementation of the changes to the public procurement regime.

Public Procurement (Amendments, Repeals and Revocations) Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/275)

The regulations will come into force on 18 April 2016, and make various amendments to Acts of Parliament and statutory instruments that are consequential on the coming into force of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/102) (PCR 2015), the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/274) and the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/273). Schedule 1 amends the Greater London Authority Act 1999, the Equality Act 2010, the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 and the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Schedule 2 amends the Public Contracts Regulations 2015...