It has been suggested that the plans to revise UK construction laws could be published by the Government in early April, with the aim of bringing them into force in April 2015.
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations SI 2007/320 and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) SR 2007/291 deal with the safety of construction sites, designating responsibility for safety to people within the construction process as well as to client organisations.
For some time, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been planning revisions to the regulations, to help what they consider "a disproportionately dangerous industry". Now, law firm Pinsent Masons believe that plans will be published shortly. "Our understanding is that a 12-week consultation will begin at the start of April and that new guidance on what the laws will mean for industry will be published between then and April 2015, when it is hoped that the regulations will come into force".
The revisions to the 2007 version of the regulations will still ensure that burdens are placed not just on construction contractors but on those that hire them, such as the retailers, property developers and infrastructure developers on whose behalf work is carried out. However, there is a chance they will propose doing away with a stand alone CDM co-ordinator and will instead reassign the responsibility for co-ordination within the team planning and delivering a project. The requirement to co-ordinate construction planning will apply across all projects and not just those that are "notifiable" under the regulations.
