During 2011, the most noteworthy development in the construction and engineering industry was the coming into force of the amendments to Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (Construction Act 1996), introduced by Part 8 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (LDEDC Act 2009). (The amendments came into force on 1 October in England and Wales (1 November in Scotland).)

In 2012, we will see the aftermath of those changes, with case law continuing to develop through the Technology and Construction Court (TCC), as parties get to grip with the new payment and adjudication rules. On a brighter note, we have the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to look forward to.

Throughout 2012, PLC Construction will be following the progress of key pieces of legislation and consultations of interest to construction practitioners in its legislation tracker.

In this update, we have summarised the expected developments over the next twelve months and linked to PLC's more detailed materials.

Following the amendments to the Construction Act 1996, during 2012 we expect to see the aftermath of those changes, with the likelihood of cases before the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) questioning aspects of the new payment and adjudication rules. For more information, see Practice note, The Construction Act 1996 changes toolkit.

In 2012, Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) will launch a refurbishment scheme (see Legal update, BREEAM New Construction effective from 1 July 2011).

Building information modelling (BIM) is a process of generating and managing building data during the building's life cycle (see Ask the team: what is Building Information Modelling (BIM)?).

In March 2011, the Government Construction Client Group's BIM Working Party published a strategy paper recommending the implementation of BIM in government projects above a certain size, by 2016. The government accepted this recommendation in its May 2011 construction strategy (see Practice note, Government Construction Strategy: Building information modelling (BIM). We therefore anticipate an increase in the use of BIM during 2012.

Building regulations apply in England and Wales to "building work", which is defined in regulation 3 of the Building Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/2214) (BR 2010). The BR 2010 apply to all types of building, whether domestic, commercial or industrial. For more information, see Practice note, Building Regulations: overview. From 31 December 2011, the Welsh Government has the power to make building regulations in Wales (see Practice note, Building Regulations: an overview: Transfer of building regulation functions to Welsh Government).

The Competition Commission is investigating a proposed construction materials joint venture between Anglo American plc and Lafarge SA. Its final report is due by mid February 2012, with the period for its inquiry extended to 1 May 2012. See Legal updates, OFT refers Anglo American/Lafarge construction materials joint venture to Competition Commission and Competition Commission extends inquiry period in Anglo American/Lafarge construction materials joint venture.

The extended costs management pilot is running in all TCC and Mercantile Courts from 1 October 2011 until 30 September 2012 (see Blog post, Should I be worried about the costs management pilot? and Practice note, Costs management).

A number of changes to the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) take effect in 2012, including:

For more information, see Practice note, CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme: in a nutshell.

Crossrail is Europe's largest construction project. The main construction works began in 2010. These works will continue during 2012 and beyond.

To help raise £300 million to finance Crossrail, during 2011, the Mayor of London consulted on proposals for a London-wide Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) (see Legal updates, Consultation on proposals for a London-wide Community Infrastructure Levy and Crossrail: Further consultation on proposals for a London-wide Community Infrastructure Levy (June 2011)). It is anticipated that the CIL will be payable on most new developments in London from spring 2012. (For more information on the CIL, see PLC Property, Practice note, Planning Act 2008: Community Infrastructure Levy: an overview.)

The Energy Act 2011 introduced the Green Deal, which is a range of energy efficiency measures for both domestic and non-domestic building occupiers, and private sector landlords. They will receive finance from accredited providers for energy efficiency improvements, which will be paid for by energy bill savings. The government considers removing the up-front costs of making energy efficiency improvements as the key to retrofitting properties and driving down carbon dioxide emissions from buildings.

Secondary legislation will be laid before Parliament in spring 2012, with the Green Deal available from autumn 2012 in England (see Practice note, The Green Deal).

On 6 April 2012, the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/2452) come into force. They amend the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/991).

One of the key changes is that an energy performance certificate (EPC) will be required on marketing for all properties (see Legal update, New energy performance certificate regulations published).

From 1 January 2012, new IFC Performance Standards (which increase requirements on environmental issues, climate change, social issues and human rights) will replace the 2006 IFC Performance Standards in Exhibit III to the Equator Principles (EPs) (see Legal update, Equator Principles Association announces new performance standards).

Separately, in March 2012, the Equator Principles Association will launch the third version of the EPs (EP III) (see Legal update, Equator Principles Association announces timetable for new version of Equator Principles).

From April 2012, the Green Investment Bank (GIB) will start investing in low carbon projects (see Legal update, Green Investment Bank to begin investing from April 2012). The GIB's priorities include commercial and industrial waste reprocessing and recycling, and support for the Green Deal (see Energy Act 2011 and the Green Deal and Legal update, Government announces priorities for the Green Investment Bank).

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) enforces health and safety law in England and Wales (see Practice note, Who enforces health and safety law in England, Wales and Scotland?).

During 2011, the government launched a number of health and safety initiatives, including its March 2011 report, Good Health and Safety, Good for Everyone, its Red Tape Challenge and the independent review of health and safety law carried out by Professor Löfstedt.

Professor Löfstedt reported in November 2011 and the government responded to his report, indicating that it accepted the proposals, with the following timetable:

The government's Red Tape Challenge will have a housing, planning and construction theme from early 2012.

For more information, see Practice note, Reforming the UK's health and safety laws.

In January 2009, the government set up High Speed Two Ltd (HS2 Ltd), a government-owned company to look at the feasibility of, and business case for, a new high speed rail link between London and Scotland. The initial section of the high speed network (HS2) will link London with Birmingham.

Although further detailed design and assessment of the route from London to Birmingham was not expected until 2013, it has been reported that in January 2012 the government will announce its decision about whether or not to proceed (see High-speed rail decision postponed until new year and Practice note, Proposed high speed rail link between London and Birmingham).

On 1 January 2012, the International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC) revised rules of arbitration (the ICC Rules 2012) came into force (see Legal update, ICC Rules of Arbitration 2012 launched).

In March 2011, Infrastructure UK (IUK) published Infrastructure Cost Review: Implementation Plan, which aimed to show how industry and government could deliver £2-3 billion of annual savings in civil engineering (see Legal update, Infrastructure Cost Review Implementation Plan published).

Two key aspects of the plan were:

On 14 January 2010, Jackson LJ's report on costs in civil litigation was published (see Practice note, Jackson LJ's Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Final Report).

Following the report, the Ministry of Justice launched a consultation, which was followed in June 2011 by draft primary legislation implementing some of the reforms, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill 2010-11. Although implementation of this Bill was expected in October 2012, it has been put back to April 2013 (see Legal update, Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill 2010-11: ministerial statement and PLC Dispute Resolution, Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill 2010-11: tracker).

Despite delays in some of Jackson LJ's reforms (principally to conditional fee agreement (CFA) success fees and after the event (ATE) insurance premiums), some costs reforms are expected to take effect during 2012 through amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). For more information, see Article, The Jackson review of Civil litigation costs: October 2011: where are we now?.

On 5 April 2012, the Joint Contracts Tribunal's (JCT) consultation, Sustainability: Life Cycle Consultation ends. The consultation includes questions about whether the JCT building contracts should contain legally binding terms aimed at improving the sustainability of building projects.

The consultation results are due to be published in summer 2012. For more information, see Legal update, JCT consultation on sustainability.

The 2011 Budget announced that in April 2012:

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games open on 27 July 2012. For more information on PLC's materials that may assist your business to prepare, see London 2012 Olympic Games toolkit.

The first National Infrastructure Plan was published in October 2010 (NIP 2010). Prior to NIP 2010, the development of infrastructure had been fragmented and reactive with no long-term plan. NIP 2010 committed the government to publishing an update by the end of 2011. In November 2011, the government published a second National Infrastructure Plan (NIP 2011).

Key dates in 2012 include:

For more information, see Practice note, National Infrastructure Plans: construction, environment and property implications.

In July 2011, the DCLG issued a consultation, Draft National Planning Policy Framework, which sought views on a simpler framework for the planning system (see Legal update, Consultation on Draft National Planning Policy Framework). The consultation ended in October 2011 and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is expected to be finalised by April 2012.

A presumption in favour of sustainable development is central to the policy approach in the draft NPPF and this has proved particularly controversial. On 21 December 2011, the Communities and Local Government select committee published its report on the draft NPPF in which it warned that the definition of sustainable development needs to be expanded and strengthened (see Communities and Local Government Committee Report: The National Planning Policy Framework (December 2011)).

In May 2011, Dr Weightman, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations and executive head of the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), published an interim report on the events at Japan's Fukushima nuclear site and the implications for the UK nuclear industry. This was followed in October 2011 by his final report, which concluded that there is no reason to curtail the operation of nuclear power plants or other nuclear facilities in the UK.

Dr Weightman's reports made a number of recommendations to improve the safety of the UK nuclear industry. The government responded in December 2011, confirming that the UK would proceed with its current policy of nuclear being part of the future energy mix for the UK (see Legal update, New nuclear: government responds to final Weightman report on Fukushima).

By June 2012, progress reports on responding to the recommendations in these reports should be available (see Legal update, Chief nuclear inspector publishes final report on impact of Fukushima disaster on UK nuclear power).

Separately, in October 2011, the Office for Nuclear Development (OND) published an updated indicative timeline for the development of new nuclear power stations. This includes developers submitting the first Funded Decommissioning Programmes (FDPs) for each new power station at the start of 2012 (see Legal update, Government updates indicative timeline for new nuclear power stations).

During 2010-11, Sebastian James carried out a review of education capital (see Legal update, The James review on capital investment in schools published and Blog post, James' review of education capital: the future for building schools).

In July 2011, the Department for Education (DfE) published a consultation on its proposals to implement the James review. As part of this consultation, by spring 2012, local authorities should provide the DfE with initial investment plans for their areas (see Legal update, Government consults on its proposals for capital investment in schools).

From April 2012, Partnerships for Schools (PfS) will be abolished, with the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme transferring to the DfE's policy directorates and its new executive agency, the Education Funding Agency (EFA) (see Legal update, Partnerships for Schools to be abolished).

The government's call for evidence (CFE), asking for views on how the private finance initiative (PFI) can be reformed to provide better value for money to the public sector, closes on 10 February 2012. The CFE asks for general views on using private finance to deliver public assets and services. It also asks specific questions on how changes to the existing PFI structure could deliver better value for money and a more balanced risk profile for the public and private sectors. For more information, see Legal update, PFI reform: call for evidence published and Practice note, PPP/PFI in the UK.

A TCC working party, which was set up following the recommendations in Jackson LJ's final report, has been reviewing the Pre-Action Protocol for Construction and Engineering Disputes (Protocol). This included carrying out an online survey.

The consultation closed in October 2011 and, during 2012, we anticipate that the results of the working party will become known.

For more information, see Practice note, Complying with the Pre-Action Protocol for Construction and Engineering Disputes.

The European Commission has been evaluating the impact and effectiveness of EU public procurement legislation, with a view to modernising the public procurement rules. It intends to make legislative proposals by early 2012 (see Legal update, Commission publishes evaluation of public procurement rules and responses to Green Paper on modernisation).

The Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 modernises the mechanism in the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930 by which creditors can access insurance policies held by insolvent companies. It received royal assent on 25 March 2010, but a coming into force date has not been announced (see Legal update, Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 passes through parliament).

The government aims to achieve zero carbon new homes by 2016, which the Zero Carbon Hub is co-ordinating. During 2011, the Zero Carbon Hub published the second and third of its reports (on carbon compliance and allowable solutions) considering the framework that will enable developers to achieve zero carbon buildings.

Further consultation between the Zero Carbon Hub and industry is anticipated during 2012 (see Legal update, Zero Carbon Hub launches proposed framework for allowable solutions for zero carbon new homes and Practice note, Zero carbon buildings).