Framework awards appear to reward poor payment practice
NFB has reacted to the Government’s recent announcement of the successful contractors to win places on the £30bn framework for public sector construction. Chief Executive, Richard Beresford, commented:
“What’s disappointing is that despite the Government knowing how late payment can seriously damage smaller businesses, as many NFB members will testify, these awards show that late payers are still winning public sector contracts. With small businesses paying the price for the Government’s inaction, the Crown Commercial Service must ensure that that it champions best practice and doesn’t give late payment another free pass.
“Despite small and medium-sized enterprises training four in five construction apprentices, being the UK’s predominant rural employers and making up 99% of the construction industry, only 44% of contract winners were SMEs. While this is an improvement on recent years, with seven lots still to be awarded, the Government must do more to make sure a greater number of construction SMEs are able to compete for work.”
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