Our latest round-up of articles written by colleagues in other UK practice areas highlights immigration, regulatory, energy, housebuilding, planning and employment issues affecting construction businesses. We've also added an article for those interested in finding out more about blockchain.

To find out more about these issues and their effect on your business, please contact one of the team listed on the right or your usual UK Construction team contact.

Immigration

Immigration issues and the effect on construction manpower

  • We recently held a panel session in which speakers from the BEIS (Fergus Harradence) and the IPPR (Joe Dromey) as well as our own immigration specialist, Jessica Pattinson, explained why post-Brexit immigration rules could severely disrupt labour supply in the UK construction industry. The statistics are sobering. For example, in 2014, 54 percent of the construction workforce in London consisted of foreign-born workers.

Employers and contractors (particularly in London and the surrounding regions) should be concerned that many of their sub-contractors employ European Economic Area (EEA) workers on projects across the UK. Those workers might not be aware that they need to apply for UK residency - or they might not be in a position to apply. Employers and contractors can minimise the risk of losing these workers.

Click here for some useful tips on how contractors and employers can work with their EEA employees and sub-contractors to navigate the residency application process: Immigration rules after Brexit could disrupt labour supply in the UK construction industry severely. What are you doing to minimise this risk? Alternatively, get in touch with one of the team listed under Key Contacts or email amy.clark@dentons.com to request a recording of the event.

Regulatory

Data protection (GDPR compliance did not end on 25 May 2018)

  • It is an inconvenient truth that GDPR compliance did not end on 25 May 2018: ongoing efforts to comply with the new General Data Protection Regulation are needed. In Regulatory: data protection (the GDPR in force from 25 May 2018), our UK Employment team provides some reminders of what steps should have been carried out before 25 May 2018 from an HR perspective. They also set out some of the proactive steps that can be taken to maintain and improve your data protection position in the future.

Housebuilding and planning issues

  • In Comparables that glitter are not all gold, Roy Pinnock considers the decision in Parkhurst Road Ltd v. Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Anor [2018] EWHC 991 (Admin). In Parkhurst, the developer appealed against a refusal of permission on the grounds that the "maximum reasonable level" of affordable housing had not been secured. On appeal, the inspector dismissed the developer's appeal. In his article, Roy Pinnock considers the High Court appeal which upheld the inspector's interpretation of the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) and clarifies the PPG regime.
  • Need for up to date local development plans: a recent appeal decision for 601 houses at Overtown confirms that unless Local Authorities keep local development plans up to date and demonstrate effective housing supply they will lose planning appeals, even on green belt land.
  • Powers and partnership for regeneration: the case of Peters v. London Borough of Haringey provides welcome clarity over the extent of the local authorities' powers to form limited liability partnerships (LLPs) for the delivery of regeneration projects carried out in partnership with the private sector.

You can sign up to the UK Planning Law Blog here.

Energy issues

  • Low carbon heat: if not now, when (and how)? To meet its longer-term climate change policy targets, the UK needs to reduce the carbon intensity of its heat production. Decarbonising the UK's heat supply is a massive challenge, but like other aspects of the energy transition, it also presents significant opportunities for investors, developers, consumers and others. This article summarises the key issues discussed at our Energy Breakfast event on 3 July 2018, as well as one or two related subsequent developments.

Employment issues

For further updates, you can sign up to the Employment team's blog here.

  • You might also be interested in the series of Mock Employment Tribunals being conducted by the Employment team in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, London and Milton Keynes during October 2018. For more details, click here.

Blockchain and smart contracts

  • Why bankers and lawyers need to understand blockchain and smart contracts: Ryan Middleton in our Toronto office discusses (i) how blockchain and distributed ledger technology ("DLT") and smart contracts will reshape the corporate lending space throughout the world; (ii) practical examples of near-term opportunities for the financial community to leverage this technology in a meaningful way; and (iii) the new roles that bankers and lawyers can play when using this technology.

Dentons is the world's first polycentric global law firm. A top 20 firm on the Acritas 2015 Global Elite Brand Index, the Firm is committed to challenging the status quo in delivering consistent and uncompromising quality and value in new and inventive ways. Driven to provide clients a competitive edge, and connected to the communities where its clients want to do business, Dentons knows that understanding local cultures is crucial to successfully completing a deal, resolving a dispute or solving a business challenge. Now the world's largest law firm, Dentons' global team builds agile, tailored solutions to meet the local, national and global needs of private and public clients of any size in more than 125 locations serving 50-plus countries. www.dentons.com.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.