Construction procurement is urged to shift from “lowest cost” tendering towards value-based selection to cut avoidable errors and rework across major UK infrastructure schemes. The latest Engineers Collective podcast discusses how current price-driven models contribute to design changes, programme overruns and latent defects, and explores alternatives such as early contractor involvement, outcome-based specifications and whole-life cost assessment. For geotechnical and civil teams, this implies earlier risk allocation discussions, more realistic ground investigation budgets and procurement criteria that reward robust temporary works and constructability planning rather than headline bid price.

New statutory guidance on consultation for nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) gives promoters greater flexibility in how they design and evidence pre-application engagement, moving away from rigid, prescriptive methods used on schemes such as DCOs for major highways and 400kV transmission lines. Developers can now tailor consultation to project scale and risk profile, for example using more targeted stakeholder mapping and digital platforms instead of blanket mail‑outs. The shift should reduce procedural challenge risk at examination while allowing geotechnical and civil design teams to iterate alignments and mitigation earlier with affected landowners and local authorities.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax hits a key deadline on 7 August, when 864,000 self‑employed taxpayers must submit their first quarterly digital update instead of the traditional annual self‑assessment return. Construction subcontractors operating under CIS are heavily exposed, as many fall within scope and must now keep compatible digital records and use approved software rather than paper or basic spreadsheets. Non‑compliance from this quarter will start accruing penalty points, creating immediate administrative and cashflow risk for smaller site-based operators.