The Week That Was - 29 May 2026

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

Technology and Construction Court's Annual Report

The Technology and Construction Court (TCC) has recently published its 2024-2025 annual report. 

The report shows that the TCC continues to handle increasingly high volume of complex disputes with 450 new claims being issued in the London TCC from October 2024 to September 2025.  102 trials were listed during the year but only 15 of those claims went to trial demonstrating consistently high settlement rates with 85% of claims settling before judgment.  This reinforces the TCC’s strong emphasis on ADR and judicial case management.  Most fully contested cases were resolved within 12 - 18 months.

The report identifies growing volumes of fire, cladding, computer software, IT infrastructure and procurement disputes.  The report also highlights the expanding impact of the Building Safety Act 2022, particularly extended limitation periods and wider liability exposure as a result of Building Liability Orders.  The growing use of AI is also highlighted as an emerging trend in terms of claim subject matter and its use in case management.  An AI Working Group has therefore been set up.

You can find the full report here.

Court refuses to frustrate lease for serious fire safety defects

In Into Nominee One Ltd and another v Study Group UK Ltd and another [2026] EWHC 1201 (TCC), the Technology and Construction Court considered whether serious fire safety defects could frustrate a long lease of student accommodation. 

The tenant argued that the building was unsafe, effectively unusable and unlikely to be lawfully occupied for much of the remaining lease term, so its obligation to pay rent should end as the doctrine of frustration applied to discharge the lease.

The Court rejected the tenant's argument and granted the Claimant's application for summary judgment for unpaid rent, holding that the terms of the lease allocated the risk of defects between the parties through detailed repairing obligations, rebuilding provisions and exclusion clauses. 

The decision highlights judicial reluctance to rewrite leases, even for severe building safety defects, where contractual risk allocation within the lease is clear.

You can read the full judgment here

BSR's Industry Competence Committee publishes competence management guidance

The Building Safety Regulator's (BSR) Industry Competence Committee (ICC) has published a new guidance document, "Setting Expectations on Competence Management".  

Both Part 2A of the Building Regulations 2010 and the Higher-Risk Buildings (Management of Safety Risks etc) (England) Regulations 2023 include competence management obligations.  These require organisations to have systems and processes in place that support the overall individual competence of those working under their control, whether employees, self-employed individuals or third-party organisations.  The guidance sets out how organisations should manage competence and describes the core principles applicable across all organisations. At the same time, the Industry Task and Finish Group (ITFG), formed to assist the ICC, has published a companion document explaining how to put the guidance into practice, entitled "Managing Competence in the Built Environment: An industry guide on how to meet the ICC principles".

For more details, please read here [May require subscription].

Welsh Government publishes guidance on socially responsible procurement reporting

The Welsh Government has published an information document setting out annual socially responsible procurement reporting requirements for Welsh contracting authorities.  The guidance details the content requirements for annual reports that certain contracting authorities in Wales must prepare and publish under section 39 of the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023. 

Authorities that have awarded any prescribed contracts in a financial year must publish a report including a summary of procurement exercises during the year, a review of steps taken to meet socially responsible procurement objectives, a statement of intended future steps, and a summary of procurement expected over the next two financial years.  The report must also include the estimated value of contracts awarded to contractors satisfying 11 specified conditions, expressed as a percentage.

Welsh Ministers are additionally required to publish an annual report on public procurement in Wales covering contracting authorities' reports and the results of any investigations.

For more details, please read here [May require subscription].

First New Hospital Programme contractor partnerships announced

The first tranche of contracts under the government's £37bn New Hospital Programme (NHP) have been awarded, with deals set to be signed this summer. The NHP has announced the first partnerships between individual NHS trusts and specific contractors from the Hospital 2.0 Alliance framework, which includes firms such as Bovis, Skanska and Kier.  Among the pairings, Laing O'Rourke has been matched with Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Graham with Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, and Morgan Sindall with Milton Keynes University Hospital. The NHP said the programme remained subject to stringent governance and contractual requirements, and that trusts and construction partners would not comment further on individual arrangements at this stage.  The framework will be used by NHS trusts to appoint Alliance Partners responsible for the design, construction and handover of individual hospital projects.  Under the programme, 46 hospitals will be built or refurbished in five-year waves, with £15bn allocated for each wave.

For more details, please read here.

Government consults on extending licensing to subcontractors

Mandatory licensing could be extended to subcontractors under options floated by the government.  Ministers are already working on implementing licensing of main contractors working on higher-risk buildings, a key recommendation of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase two report. A consultation document published on 20 May for a proposed strategy for built environment professions sought industry views on extending the licensing net more widely.  The call for evidence, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, asked whether changes to licensing and regulation of those working on a range of projects, including smaller or domestic-scale work, would raise standards for competence, conduct and accountability.  Licensing of principal contractors on higher-risk buildings is explicitly excluded from the consultation. 

The call contains 79 questions and closes on 12 August, with the strategy due next spring.  Building safety minister, Samantha Dixon, has urged the sector to respond.

For more details, please read here.

Disclaimer: The information in this publication is for guidance purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.  We attempt to ensure that the content is current as at the date of publication, but we do not guarantee that it remains up to date. You should seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any of the content.

With thanks to Ella Green and Natalie Chan

If you have any queries please do get in contact with a member of the team, or your usual RPC contact.