The construction sector must build for the future

tially more challenging, market.

Governments can’t solve all the problems that Covid-19 has created. Its resources are also limited as a result of the crash in the economy. Perhaps it would be reasonable to allow the sector to find it’s own way forward.

Thereare,however,afewpossibilities for what government intervention might look like. One option might be where the government imposes a mechanism for dealing with loss and expense claims. A formula for how claims should be dealt with and valued, could be imposed on contracts, rather than letting contractors and employers argue among themselves. There would undoubtedly be winners and losers, but perhaps it might even things out across the sector and help maintain stability.

Another option might be where the government offers grants or loans to employers to fund the additional expenses being added to contract sums. Employers could choose whether to take up the funding, but would still be free to argue the liability for the additional costs if they considered the contractor’s claim to be unfair.

A simple solution would be to make the regime for payment, which is currently imposed upon the sector by statute, more rigid and uniform, so that the scope to delay or avoid payment is restricted and any dispute about the amount due is more quickly identified.

We would all rather not have to deal with the challenges Covid-19 has thrown at us. However, with the construction sector responsible for around ten per cent of the workforce, and with hundreds of billions of pounds at stake, we need to find a way forward that is sustainable for all. Further and speedy government intervention into this essential but vulnerable sector will be vitally important.

Roddy Cormack is an Accredited Specialist in Construction Law and Legal Director at Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP