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Why Your Construction Business is Now a Live Legal Risk For decades, the construction industry has operated in a "grey zone". We’ve called it "commercial management," "smoothing the numbers," or "protecting the project". But as of September 2025, the UK’s legal landscape shifted beneath our feet. The Failure to Prevent Fraud (FTPF)  offence, part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) , is now active. If you are a leader in a contractor, consultant

Why Construction Contracts Now Matter More Than Ever For years, construction contracts have been treated as a necessary inconvenience—something legal insists on, commercial teams work around, and project managers only look at when things go wrong. That approach is no longer good enough. The UK’s Failure to Prevent Fraud  (FTPF) offence, part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023  (ECCTA), is now in force. The ground rules have changed. If a fraud is commit

If you work in construction, you already know the frustration. Plans look perfect on paper, yet out on site things slip. Teams under-produce one day, over-produce the next. The reasons? They rarely make it back to the planners in time to make a difference. That gap between plan and reality is where productivity leaks away. National Highways saw this problem too. Their Innovation Reapplied initiative dug deep into the data. They tracked productivity across major schemes, compa

The UK construction industry reached a definitive turning point on 24 February 2025. With the Procurement Act 2023 now in full effect, the era of winning work solely on the lowest initial price is ending. For high quality suppliers, this is not just a regulatory update: it is a massive opportunity to shine. The new regime replaces a system that often rewarded "cheap and cheerful" bids with one that mandates end to end transparency and rigorous performance monitoring. This shi

Navigating Contract Changes under the Procurement Act 2023 If you’re working in the UK infrastructure market, you’ve likely spent the last few months getting to grips with the biggest shake-up in procurement for a generation. Since the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23) went live on 24 February 2025, the old EU-derived rules have been swapped for a regime that places a massive premium on transparency (Beale & Co, 2025; PBC Today, 2025). For anyone managing asset enhancement or repla

“Option C and E work only when both the Client and Consultant meet their responsibilities; clarity from one, competence from the other.” The uncomfortable truth   Let’s be honest: few clients, project managers, or suppliers ever sit down and really talk about what NEC PSC4 Option C or Option E means in practice. Everyone nods, a few mutter about target costs, pain/gain share, and collaboration, and then someone says, “Right, let’s get on with it.”   But behind the tidy defin

Winning public sector contracts can open new doors for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Yet, one of the biggest challenges many face is meeting the Social Value requirements embedded in public sector tendering. These requirements are not just a box to tick; they reflect a growing demand for businesses to contribute positively to society beyond delivering goods or services. If you’re unsure whether your SME meets these expectations, I’m here to help you understand w

Here's the problem with most construction projects: when your workforce underperforms against planned output, everyone has a theory. Materials weren't there. The design was incomplete. Something got in the way. Maybe it was genuine, maybe it was an excuse. Either way, by next week, you've forgotten the specifics and you're dealing with different problems. And when a team exceeds what you planned? Brilliant, crack on, nobody asks why because we're just relieved something went

For decades, the construction industry has treated rework as an operational headache, a thief of margin and a killer of productivity. But following the enactment of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) , the landscape has shifted seismically. Rework is no longer just a commercial failure; masking it could be a corporate crime. The new "failure to prevent fraud" offence has dismantled the old corporate shield. It introduces strict liability for large

There’s this odd space between running a small business and becoming a proper medium-sized enterprise. It’s not quite David versus Goliath, but it’s definitely uncomfortable. You’ve outgrown your scrappy startup phase, but you’re not yet the well-oiled machine you see in case studies. And honestly? This is where most business owners either thrive or quietly struggle for years. I’ve worked with numerous SME owners navigating this exact transition, and what strikes me most is h

If you're a procurement officer in the public sector right now, you're probably having a fairly consistent thought pattern that goes something like this: "How on earth am I supposed to document every single decision in a way that'll survive challenges under the Procurement Act 2023?" You're not alone. And you're not being dramatic. The truth is, PA23's golden thread requirement (running from your preliminary market engagement notice in Section 12, through your tender notice i

The Procurement Act 2023 has fundamentally changed the game for public sector procurement, and many authorities still haven't quite grasped what this means in practice. At its heart is a seemingly simple shift: from selecting the "Most Economically Advantageous Tender" to choosing the "Most Advantageous Tender." But don't be fooled by the brevity of that change, it's created a requirement that's proving rather uncomfortable for procurement teams used to more, shall we say, fl

Right, so you've heard that government contracts are massive opportunities for SMEs. Steady income, respectable client, looks brilliant on your credentials. And you're absolutely right - except that actually getting your foot in the door feels like trying to solve a puzzle that nobody's explained the rules to. I've coached quite a few business owners through this process, and the good news is that it's more accessible than most people think. The bad news? It requires a specif

Breaking Construction’s Bad Reputation for productivity in the UK For decades, the UK construction sector has operated in a state of habitual underperformance. It is a reality we have all, to some extent, learned to tolerate. We see productivity that has flatlined for forty years while manufacturing has raced ahead. We navigate margins so razor-thin (averaging 1% to 2%) that a single delayed project can threaten the solvency of a Tier 1 contractor. We sign collaborative contr

The UK construction sector has long accepted a certain "coefficient of friction", a silent acceptance that projects will run late, budgets will drift, and rework is just the cost of doing business. But what if we could quantify exactly how much of that friction is avoidable? And what if the new legislative landscape of 2023, 2024, and 2025 means that this friction is no longer just expensive, but legally dangerous? A forensic look at global infrastructure data reveals a start

The Golden Thread: Defending Procurement Decisions Under the Procurement Act 2023 For decades, the way we’ve chosen contractors for big public projects, new railways, tunnels, and hospitals, hasn't always served us well. We’ve seen projects run over budget, finish late, and a tragic realisation that sometimes, the focus on the lowest price has come at the expense of safety and quality. The public rightly expects better. Now, a trio of new laws has completely rewritten the rul

In the world of infrastructure governance, challenges like fraud and accountability are always present, especially for decision-makers in the UK. Faced with complex systems, our goal is to create a transparent and ethical environment. In recent years, Nudge Theory has emerged as a powerful tool to help guide individuals toward better decision-making without limiting their freedom to choose. In this article, I will discuss how Nudge Theory can promote responsible behaviour in

Amid the recent changes brought by the Procurement Act 2023, procurement practices are experiencing a significant transformation. For those in the UK infrastructure construction sector, this new legislation could feel overwhelming. However, this could also be an opportunity to redefine how you engage with suppliers. BPA is dedicated to guiding clients through these changes by reframing procurement models and contract terms. This post delves into how I help you integrate innov

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) marks a profound shift in UK corporate law, introducing a new 'failure to prevent fraud' (FTPF) offence that came into force on 1 September 2025. This strict liability offence holds large organisations criminally accountable for fraudulent acts committed by their 'associated persons', a broad category including employees, agents, and the entire supply chain, if the act was intended to benefit the organisation. Wit

For Government departments and arms-length bodies (ALBs), accountability has always been paramount. The role of the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) is steeped in the prescriptive governance requirements of HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money  and the exacting standards of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA). Yet, the seismic shift introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) now demands more than just fiscal stewardship; it demands demonstrable technical comp