The Week That Was - 20 February 2026

Welcome to the week that was, a round-up of key events in the construction sector over the last seven days.

Cross-party Education Committee publishes report on RAAC crisis

The cross-party Education Committee published its report last week about reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which emerged as a major issue in 2023. The Committee found that despite the government making significant progress in removing and remediating RAAC, the experience has affected pupils' learning and well-being. Where RAAC remains an ongoing problem, the Committee said temporary solutions cannot substitute for permanent fixes.

School leaders told the Committee that identifying RAAC created disruption and uncertainty for schools, with schools having to rely on disruptive temporary solutions such as marquees or modular buildings. The Committee highlighted that many school buildings have exceeded their design life. According to the National Audit Office, 38% of schools were beyond their estimated design life including 10,000 built before 1940. The Committee recognised that more action is required, particularly on the information held about school buildings. It was recommended that all responsible bodies should carry out a structured survey and risk assessment of higher-risk buildings every three to five years.

The Committee has called for the government to publish its promised strategy without delay.

Read the full article here.

Joint venture member not a "Party" to the contract and cannot bring adjudication in own name (TCC)

The TCC has refused to enforce a £23.9m adjudication decision in favour of Darchem Engineering Ltd, finding that Darchem, as one entity within a joint venture, was not a “Party” to the NEC subcontract and therefore had no standing to adjudicate in its own name.

The subcontract (for Hinkley Point C) was between two joint venturers': BYLOR (Bouygues/Laing O’Rourke) and EDEL (Darchem/Framatome). Although all four entities appeared in the Agreement and were “ogether known as the Parties”, the conditions of subcontract defined “Parties” as “the Contractor and the Subcontractor”. References throughout to “either Party”, “both Parties” and “the other Party” reinforced that there were only two parties in law.

“Acting jointly and severally” and the joint venture clause did not give one entity unilateral entitlement to act on behalf of the joint venture. The court noted that a contrary interpretation risked “chaos”, with multiple joint venture members able to pursue parallel adjudications on the same issue.

Read the full article here [may require subscription].

Government publishes UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism policy summary and consultation on draft regulations

HM Treasury has published a policy summary and launched a consultation on 10 February 2026 regarding three sets of draft regulations for the UK carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), legislated for in the Finance (No 2) Bill 2026, due to commence on 1 January 2027.

The policy summary explains the CBAM’s scope, how liabilities are calculated and how the regime will be administered. The draft regulations, which are to come into effect alongside the CBAM, are:

• Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (Administrative Provisions) Regulations 2026, which contains details regarding the information required for registration, returns, reimbursement, weight calculations and record-keeping.
• Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (Calculation of CBAM Rate and Determination of Carbon Price Relief) Regulations 2026, which details the steps to calculate the CBAM rate, information on the carbon price relief (claiming, verifying and calculating) and related records.
• Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (Transitory Provision) Regulations 2026, which modifies dates for payments, registration, accounting periods and penalties during the transition phase which is 1 January 2027–30 June 2028.

Draft notices, which will have force of law, have also been published. The consultation closes on 24 March 2026, with further draft secondary legislation expected in spring 2026.

Read the full article here [may require subscription].

Building Safety Regulator (BSR) gateway three delays trigger fears of bottleneck

According to data revealed in a Freedom of Information request, dozens of higher-risk building (HRB) schemes have been stuck for months at the gateway three approval stage with the BSR.

Under the post-Grenfell building safety regime, gateway three is the final approval required before a completed HRB (either 18m or at least seven storeys tall) can be occupied. The BSR has a statutory requirement to reach a decision on gateway three applications within eight weeks, though data shows that out of 158 gateway three applications submitted last year, 55 took more than three months to receive a decision.

Whilst to date the focus on HRB delays have centred on gateway two, under which projects must demonstrate full compliance with building regulations at the design stage, concerns are now mounting over gateway three. The regulator commented that it "continue[s] to work proactively with applicants to get the buildings to a state where they can be occupied”.

Read the full article here.

Bristol Airport mass transit build envisaged within five years

Construction of a mass transit system between Bristol's city centre and airport could begin within five years, according to a report from the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), which notes that Bristol Airport is the country's only regional airport without a fixed mass transit link.

Helen Godwin, mayor of the West of England, unveiled the early plans as part of WECA’s Transport Vision. Whilst the exact type of transport system has yet to be decided, the WECA has suggested a light railway or electric tram system are suitable options.

The WECA report adds that the combined authority has funding to invest in mass transit and is working to develop a 15-year plan for all its economic growth zones, but “achieving this will require our region to make a unified and compelling case to [central] government for further investment”.

Read the full article here.

Graham wins £286m student accommodation job

Graham has secured a £286m contract to redevelop Manchester Metropolitan University’s Cambridge Halls student accommodation. The joint venture scheme between Manchester Metropolitan University and Unite Students, which won planning approval in August 2025, will deliver 2,302 student bedrooms across two new towers of 30 and 24 storeys. The 0.8ha site will replace the 771 existing rooms built in 1998.

Of the 2,302 rooms, 1,941 will be allocated to Manchester Metropolitan University, with the remainder let by Unite Students. The accommodation is designed to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating, with the construction to be delivered in two phases, the southern block in 2029 and the northern in 2030. Demolition is already under way, with the main construction due to commence later this year. 

Read the full article here.

With thanks to Jessica Hill, Victoria Sessions and Austin O'Neill

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