Opinion

Construction law specialist Ross Taylor wonders if it’s now time for mandatory payment practices as the construction sector buckles under Brexit-driven worries. On 18 October 2019, the Office for National Statistics released the annual performance statistics for 2018, relative to the UK constr

Ahead of the Homes for Scotland annual conference, Nicola Barclay discusses the need for housing, the social and economic benefits of home building and the constraints facing the industry. For the first time since 2008 and the global recession, housing completions in Scotland have exceeded 20,000 pe

I was one of those kids who knew what they wanted to be from an early age. My five-year-old self created buildings with Lego from my imagination. So, when I grew up I did it for real and became an architect. When I was using my imagination as a child there were no barriers – such as the p

In a new report for Common Weal, former chief statistician Jim Cuthbert examines the newly developed 'Mutual Investment Model' that the Scottish Government has adopted for at least some future public infrastructure projects.

The new building regulations can ensure Scotland leads the way in delivering safe, compliant construction projects but they don’t come without their challenges, says Heather Holbrook. At the start of October, Scotland ushered in a new wave of building regulations, aimed at improving the safety

Public procurement policy and practice, when it comes to facilitating SME involvement, seems to be focused solely upon ensuring there are opportunities at a sub-contract level. But, asks Roddy Cormack, does this focus miss the sweet spot in terms of actual benefit to the SME economy? There are certa

Ben Zielinski, a senior associate in the commercial litigation team at Shoosmiths in Edinburgh, considers the significance of a recent judgment in the Court of Session that has given greater clarification of how much notice a landlord needs to give to terminate a commercial lease in Scotland. A rece

Harper Macleod’s Lewis Kemp looks at a recent case which has taken a new approach to dealing with the problematic application of prescription in construction cases. The traditional understanding of the law of prescription in Scotland, which extinguishes certain rights and obligations after the

Rounding off a fortnight of reporting following Scotland Excel’s ‘Accelerating Delivery of Affordable New Homes’ conference, category manager Jenny Bowles highlights the potential for generating social value in construction. In the Scottish Government’s recent Annual Procurem

Following recent regulatory investigations into fake certificates for construction workers, corporate and financial crime specialist Ramsay Hall looks at the risk of fraud for organisations in the sector and the practical steps that can be taken to mitigate risk. In August 2019, it was reported that

Surveyor Tom Laurie talks about the many, but perhaps little known, exceptions that exist for Home Reports. Home Reports, now a wholly accepted part of Scotland’s residential property landscape, celebrated their tenth anniversary late last year. But, remarkably enough, there remains a signific

Prime-site developer Queensberry Properties’ design and technical manager, Kirsty Henderson, examines how the continual evolution of architecture provides a fascinating glimpse into how our lives and expectations have changed over time. Architecture has always played a critical role in both sh

Site manager Robbie Hunter talks about the opportunities the industry presents and his route to a flourishing career having progressed through the graduate scheme at Kier. Like many children, I liked playing with Lego and creating my own buildings, but it wasn’t until I started watching Grand

Gemma Syme, senior HR and recruitment adviser at CMS Windows, discusses the company’s progressive approach to training and apprenticeships. In 2018, CMS Window Systems opened its new CMS Academy and launched the Academy’s inaugural CMS Apprenticeship Programme.

David Rennie, relationship director, public sector & higher education Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, outlines the benefits of Project Bank Accounts in streamlining payments.  Since the policy governing Project Bank Accounts (PBAs) for construction projects in Scotland was introduced in 2