This Practice Note sets out the functions of bills of quantities (‘BoQs’) in the JCT forms of contract, what parties should consider and what BoQs contain, as well as some practical tips. It looks primarily at the 2024 editions of the JCT forms of contract, but similar provisions are found in earlier editions. The JCT defines Contract Bills (eg in clause 1.1 and the Second Recital, JCT Standard Building Contract With Quantities 2024) as ‘the fully priced bills of quantities referred to in the Second Recital’. More generally, BoQs are schedules that detail units, quantities, rates and totals for items of work, materials, components and labour which are itemised in accordance with an industry-recognised standard method of measurement. BoQs are usually prepared by the Employer’s consultant and are based upon the drawings and specifications issued at tender. They are issued with the tender to enable all contractors to price based on the same information. The difference between the JCT definition of Contract Bills and BoQs is that JCT refers

The JCT Constructing Excellence Contract (JCT CE) was first launched in March 2007. JCT CE followed on from JCT’s earlier collaboration with ‘Be’ (a merger between Reading Construction Forum and the Design & Build Forum) to produce its first partnering contract, the Be Collaborative Agreement. The continuation of this relationship, and ongoing recognition of the need for agreements reflecting the partnering concept, led to the development of the JCT Constructing Excellence Contract and the accompanying JCT Constructing Excellence Project Team Agreement (JCT CE/P). The most recent editions of JCT CE and JCT CE/P were published in October 2024 as part of the JCT 2024 suite of contracts (hence they are known as JCT Constructing Excellence Contract 2024 and JCT Constructing Excellence Project Team Agreement 2024 respectively). For a summary of the changes made in the 2024 versions in comparison to the previous 2016 versions, see News Analysis: The JCT Constructing Excellence Contract 2024—what’s changed? JCT CE embraces partnering and therefore is particularly suited to projects where the parties wish to use partnering or collaborative working

This Practice Note looks at how defects are dealt with under the JCT Contracts 2024, focussing on the provisions in the Standard Building Contract with Quantities and the Design and Build Contract. The Practice Note looks at what a defect is under the JCT contracts, responsibility for defects during construction and during the Rectification Period, rectification of defects, the failure to rectify defects, and latent defects. For a more general discussion on defects, see Practice Note: Defects claims in construction. What is a defect under the JCT contracts? As with many standard form contracts, most of the JCT contracts do not contain a specific definition of ‘defect’. ‘Defect’ generally means that some of the work or materials does not conform with the requirements of the contract. The Scottish Court of Session, in Autolink Concessionaires v Amey, noted that the phrase ‘any defect’ should be construed broadly, but not so broadly as to allow a party to effectively require improvements by categorising any failure to meet a standard (which could not be said to be reasonably expected under the contract)

Agreement in relation to [insert brief details of the works/project] at [insert address of works] (incorporating (inter alia) the JCT Design and Build Sub-Contract Agreement 2016 (DBSub/A 2016) and JCT Design and Build Sub-Contract Conditions 2016 (DBSub/C 2016) as modified and supplemented in the manner indicated in this Agreement and the Schedules hereto). This Agreement is made on the [insert number] day of [insert month] 20[insert year]. Parties 1 [insert name of the Contractor] (company registration number [insert number]) whose registered office is situated at [insert address of the Contractor] (‘the Contractor’); 2 [insert name of the Sub-Contractor] (company registration number [insert number]) whose registered office is situated at [insert address of the Sub-Contractor] (‘the Sub-Contractor’). Now it is agreed that: 1 Interpretation In this Agreement words and expressions shall have the meanings that are respectively assigned to them in the JCT DBSub/A 2016 and the JCT DBSub/C 2016, referred to in and modified and supplemented in Schedule 1 and/or Schedule 2. 2 The contract This Agreement, together with the following documents, constitute the ‘contract’ and are in the following order of priority in the event of any discrepancies

Agreement in relation to [insert brief details of the works/project] at [insert address of works] (incorporating (inter alia) the JCT Design and Build Sub-Contract Agreement 2024 (DBSub/A 2024) and JCT Design and Build Sub-Contract Conditions 2024 (DBSub/C 2024) as modified and supplemented in the manner indicated in this Agreement and the Schedules hereto). This Agreement is made on the [insert number] day of [insert month] 20[insert year]. Parties 1 [insert name of the Contractor] (company registration number [insert number]) whose registered office is situated at [insert address of the Contractor] (‘the Contractor’); 2 [insert name of the Sub-Contractor] (company registration number [insert number]) whose registered office is situated at [insert address of the Sub-Contractor] (‘the Sub-Contractor’). Now it is agreed that: 1 Interpretation In this Agreement words and expressions shall have the meanings that are respectively assigned to them in the JCT DBSub/A 2024 and the JCT DBSub/C 2024, referred to in and modified and supplemented in Schedule 1 and/or Schedule 2. 2 The contract This Agreement, together with the following documents, constitute the ‘contract’ and are in the following order of priority in the event of any discrepancies

The JCT publishes a standard form framework agreement called the JCT Framework agreement (JCT FA). It was first published in 2005 in both binding and non-binding versions, and a revised single edition was published in 2007. The JCT FA was updated in 2011, again in 2017 (although it was labelled the 2016 edition as it forms part of the JCT 2016 suite), and most recently in 2025 (forming part of the JCT 2024 suite). The guidance in this Practice Note covers all of the 2011, 2016 and 2024 editions, highlighting their differences where relevant. These versions are, however, very similar in their terms; though at the outset, it is important to note that certain of the amendments introduced to the 2024 edition were intended to reflect changes made to the public procurement regime, delivered under the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023). PA 2023 came substantially into force on 24 February 2025. For more information on PA 2023, see Practice Notes: Introduction to the Procurement Act 2023—PA 2023, Key Implications of the Procurement Act 2023 for Construction Lawyers

Construction analysis: In March 2025, the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) published the latest JCT Framework Agreement 2024 Edition (FA 2024) and its accompanying JCT Framework Agreement Guide 2024 Edition. This article considers the FA 2024 in the context of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) which applies to covered procurements commenced on or after 24 February 2025. Written by Priya Kale (associate) and Andrew Millross (consultant) both of Anthony Collins.

This Practice Note summarises what the Information Release Schedule (IRS) is, its role in the JCT contracts and some practical points to consider when using the IRS and incorporating it into a JCT contract. Information Release Schedule The JCT definition of the IRS (as defined, for example, in the fifth recital in the JCT Standard Building Contract Without Quantities) is the schedule of information that the Architect or Contract Administrator will release, and the time of that release. It is therefore essentially a timetable for the flow of design information. An IRS is necessary on a project where the full set of design information is not available at tender documentation stage, or will not be available by contract execution. This is particularly the case for fast-track projects, where the completion date is fixed by external criteria usually defined by the business case for the project (such as a harvest in relation to a manufacturing project) and the design has to be completed alongside early construction works in order to achieve

Agreement in relation to [insert brief details of the works/project] at [insert address of works] (incorporating (inter alia) the JCT Intermediate Sub-Contract Agreement 2016 (ICSub/A 2016) and JCT Intermediate Sub-Contract Conditions 2016 (ICSub/C 2016) as modified and supplemented in the manner indicated in this Agreement and the Schedules hereto). This Agreement is made on the [insert number] day of [insert month] 20[insert year]. Parties 1 [insert name of the Contractor] (company registration number [insert number]) whose registered office is situated at [insert address of the Contractor] (‘the Contractor’); 2 [insert name of the Sub-Contractor] (company registration number [insert number]) whose registered office is situated at [insert address of the Sub-Contractor] (‘the Sub-Contractor’). Now it is agreed that: 1 Interpretation In this Agreement words and expressions shall have the meanings that are respectively assigned to them in the JCT ICSub/A 2016 and the JCT ICSub/C 2016, referred to in and modified and supplemented in Schedule 1 and/or Schedule 2. 2 The contract This Agreement, together with the following documents, constitute the ‘contract’ and are in the following order of priority in the event of any discrepancies contained within them: 2.1 this

Agreement in relation to [insert brief details of the works/project] at [insert address of works] (incorporating (inter alia) the JCT Intermediate Sub-Contract Agreement 2024 (ICSub/A 2024) and JCT Intermediate Sub-Contract Conditions 2024 (ICSub/C 2024) as modified and supplemented in the manner indicated in this Agreement and the Schedules hereto). This Agreement is made on the [insert number] day of [insert month] 20[insert year]. Parties 1 [insert name of the Contractor] (company registration number [insert number]) whose registered office is situated at [insert address of the Contractor] (‘the Contractor’); 2 [insert name of the Sub-Contractor] (company registration number [insert number]) whose registered office is situated at [insert address of the Sub-Contractor] (‘the Sub-Contractor’). Now it is agreed that: 1 Interpretation In this Agreement words and expressions shall have the meanings that are respectively assigned to them in the JCT ICSub/A 2024 and the JCT ICSub/C 2024, referred to in and modified and supplemented in Schedule 1 and/or Schedule 2. 2 The contract This Agreement, together with the following documents, constitute the ‘contract’ and are in the following order of priority in the event of any discrepancies contained within them: 2.1 this

Agreement in relation to [insert brief details of the works/project] at [insert address of works] (incorporating (inter alia) the JCT Intermediate Sub-Contract with sub-contractor’s design Agreement 2016 (ICSub/D/A 2016) and JCT Intermediate Sub-Contract with sub-contractor’s design Conditions 2016 (ICSub/D/C 2016) as modified and supplemented in the manner indicated in this Agreement and the Schedules hereto). This Agreement is made on the [insert number] day of [insert month] 20[insert year]. Parties 1 [insert name of the Contractor] (company registration number [insert number]) whose registered office is situated at [insert address of the Contractor] (‘the Contractor’); 2 [insert name of the Sub-Contractor] (company registration number [insert number]) whose registered office is situated at [insert address of the Sub-Contractor] (‘the Sub-Contractor’). Now it is agreed that: 1 Interpretation In this Agreement words and expressions shall have the meanings that are respectively assigned to them in the JCT ICSub/D/A 2016 and the JCT ICSub/D/C 2016, referred to in and modified and supplemented in Schedule 1 and/or Schedule 2. 2 The contract This Agreement, together with the following documents, constitute the ‘contract’ and are in the following order of priority in the event of any discrepancies

Agreement in relation to [insert brief details of the works/project] at [insert address of works] (incorporating (inter alia) the JCT Intermediate Sub-Contract with sub-contractor’s design Agreement 2024 (ICSub/D/A 2024) and JCT Intermediate Sub-Contract with sub-contractor’s design Conditions 2024 (ICSub/D/C 2024) as modified and supplemented in the manner indicated in this Agreement and the Schedules hereto). This Agreement is made on the [insert number] day of [insert month] 20[insert year]. Parties 1 [insert name of the Contractor] (company registration number [insert number]) whose registered office is situated at [insert address of the Contractor] (‘the Contractor’); 2 [insert name of the Sub-Contractor] (company registration number [insert number]) whose registered office is situated at [insert address of the Sub-Contractor] (‘the Sub-Contractor’). Now it is agreed that: 1 Interpretation In this Agreement words and expressions shall have the meanings that are respectively assigned to them in the JCT ICSub/D/A 2024 and the JCT ICSub/D/C 2024, referred to in and modified and supplemented in Schedule 1 and/or Schedule 2. 2 The contract This Agreement, together with the following documents, constitute the ‘contract’ and are in the following order of priority in the event of any discrepancies