The Scottish Building Contracts Committee (SBCC)

JCT 2024 - The Joint Contracts Tribunal Ltd (JCT) announced the release of the JCT 2024 Edition of Contracts, launching with the Design and Build Contract family on 17 April 2024. The remaining JCT 2024 suites will be released in phases throughout 2024 and 2025 and expected to conclude with the new JCT Target Cost Contract Suite in the summer of 2025. Please note, JCT contracts are for use in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Users in Northern Ireland require additional Adaptation Schedules from the RSUA.

For further updates and information, and to view the JCT 2024 Edition online launch event, please visit their website. The full JCT press release can be found at the bottom of this article.

SBCC 2024 - The Scottish Building Contract Committee (SBCC) are the Scottish College of JCT and are adapting the most commonly used JCT 2024 contract suites to produce contracts compliant with Scottish law and practice. Some key themes that SBCC will be adopting include Modernising and Streamlining, Future Proofing updates and some Legislative Changes affecting Scotland.

The SBCC held a Seminar in September 2024 which went over both the JCT Updates and provided an SBCC progress update including details of the suites the SBCC will be adapting.

SBCC 2024 Minor Works Suite - The SBCC 2024 Minor Works suite is in the final stages of publication and the upload and testing of the digital documents is currently in progress. The SBCC 2024 Minor Works suite includes the three main contracts, two associated sub-contracts, administration forms and additional guidance documents. This will be the first full SBCC 2024 suite to be published, the current target date is Winter 2025.

The Minor Works suite release will include the following contracts. These contracts will be available to purchase in both Digital and Print format:

The following documents are also to be released with the suite and will be available to purchase in Digital format:

Future Releases - The SBCC 2024 Minor Works suite will be followed shortly after by the release of the folloowing suites, SBCC 2024 Design and Build suite and SBCC 2024 Standard Building Contract suite.

SBCC 2024 Launch Events - The SBCC plan to hold online launch events shortly after the release of the Minor Works suite, details of these events will be published in due course.

Current Contracts - Until the new SBCC 2024 editions are released, for projects in Scotland, please continue to use the current published editions of SBCC Contracts. In most cases this will be the 2016 version. Details of the current SBCC Contracts, Guides and their appropriate uses can be found here: Which contract is appropriate for my project?

Updates - Follow the SBCC on LinkedIn or visit our website for any updates and news on the SBCC 2024 suites.

JCT has announced that the release of its 2024 Edition of Contracts, which will launch with the Design and Build family of contracts, will take place on 17 April 2024.

An online launch event, which will give an overview of JCT 2024 and explain the main changes and features of the new edition, will take place in conjunction with Building Magazine on 1 May 2024.

The Design and Build 2024 Contracts will be made available simultaneously across all platforms – hardcopy, JCT On Demand digital, and via the JCT Construct digital subscription service.

Customers who wish to receive their hardcopy forms on release day can pre-order the following contracts from the JCT online store from today (Monday 18 March):

Design and Build Contract 2024 (DB 2024)
Design and Build Contract Guide 2024 (DB/G 2024)
Design and Build Contract 2024 Tracked Change Document (DB 2024 Tracked)

JCT originally trailed the launch of the 2024 Edition back in June 2023 at its annual Construction Industry Parliamentary Reception, which introduced the following key themes:

Modernising and Streamlining – including adoption of gender neutral language, and increased flexibility around the use of electronic notices.

New for JCT 2024 – the introduction of a new contract family, JCT Target Cost Contract (TCC), comprising main contract, sub-contract, and guide.

Legislative changes – major updates in relation to the new Part 2A of the Building Regulations, Termination accounting and payment provisions reflecting the Construction Act, new insolvency grounds reflecting the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020.

Future proofing – including changes to reflect the objectives of the Construction Playbook, and the incorporation of previously optional supplemental provisions relating to Collaborative Working, and Sustainable Development and Environmental Considerations, into the main document.

The launch event on 1 May will provide more information about the background and detail of these changes, and features presentations from the following members of JCT’s Drafting Sub-Committee:

Victoria Peckett, partner, Clyde & Co LLP, chair, JCT Drafting Sub-Committee
John Riches, director, Henry Cooper Consultants Limited, vice-chair, JCT Drafting Sub Committee
Ben Patton, partner, Ashurst LLP, member, JCT Drafting Sub-Committee
Sarah Elliott, partner, Wedlake Bell LLP, member JCT Drafting Sub-Committee

Victoria Peckett, chair, JCT Drafting Sub-Committee, said:

“A tremendous amount of hard work has gone into the preparation of JCT 2024.

“We are thrilled to finally be able to announce the availability of the first contracts from the JCT 2024 Edition, and look forward to sharing more specific details about the changes with our users and the wider industry on 1 May.”

The launch of DB 2024 will also coincide with a range of other information resources providing more information about the JCT 2024 Edition.

Users are encouraged to sign-up to the JCT Network to receive advanced information about Contract releases, more information about the 2024 Edition, and to get registration notice for the 1 May launch event:

corporate.jctltd.co.uk/jct-network

SBCC 2024 Update

JCT Announces Release of 2024 Edition of Contracts