This episode takes a look at the Procurement Act 2023, which was brought into force in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on 24 February 2025.

Six months on, hosts Emma Hutchinson (Construction Disputes) and Emma Blundell (Public Procurement) explore how the new public procurement regime is bedding in, the early trends we are seeing across live projects, and the pitfalls our clients operating in and outside of the construction sector should be aware of to stay ahead of the curve.

Offering practical perspectives and expertise, this episode is essential listening for anyone involved in public procurement or delivering construction and infrastructure projects.

A new duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace including harassment by third parties, came into force on 26 October 2024. While sexual harassment can happen in any workplace, there are factors specific to the construction sector (including onsite working and frequent interactions with contractors) which mean that there are multiple sexual harassment hotspots which can be difficult to manage in practice.

During this podcast CMS employment partner Catriona Aldridge speaks to Lucy Kendall from Laing O’Rourke about the measures Laing O’Rourke has brought into place in anticipation and in response to the new legislation.

The podcast covers:

• What is meant when we talk about sexual harassment?
• What has changed with the new duty to prevent coming into force?
• What can construction companies do to practically comply with the duty?
• An update from Laing O’Rourke – what is the construction industry’s perspective on the duty to prevent obligation, and what are the challenges to ensuring compliance?

In this episode, our experts look at a first-of-its-kind competition enforcement report produced by the CMS Competition team.

The report provides a rigorous analysis of competition enforcement in the UK, analysing all 164 of the Competition and Markets Authority’s investigations appeals to the Competition Appeal Tribunal since the early 2000s.

In this discussion, two authors of the report (Neil Baylis and Lucy Charatan of CMS’ Antitrust, Competition & Trade team), discuss building and construction highlights from the report.

The podcast covers:

• A summary of the contents of the report and how it is relevant to businesses operating in the building and construction sectors
• A discussion on how the CMA generally initiates investigations and a consideration on whether it has adopted any specific practices in the construction sector
• Types of infringing behaviour seen in the building and construction industry
• A consideration of whether the CMA has become more active in taking proceedings against directors in a personal capacity
• Lessons learnt from the report and trends to look out for in the future for the sector, including relating to ESG and labour markets

Explore CMS' UK competition enforcement report