Six-point plan to ensure fair payment throughout industry

The SEC Group found that only 25% of public sector bodies had a system in place to track the speed of payments.

In addition to these statistics, the group also discovered that 9 in 10 public sector clients used a cash retention system to withhold payment – improving capital available in the short-term.

Furthermore only 14% of public sector clients made use of PAS 91 pre-qualification questionnaires, which are designed to save suppliers time when looking to gain public sector work.

SEC Group have assembled a six-point plan to ensure to ensure fair payment throughout the construction supply chain:

1. All public sector payments should be made within 30 days of the end of the month when the work was carried out.
2. Organisations failing to pay their supply chain within 30 days should be excluded from bidding for further public sector contracts for a year.
3. Cash retentions should be required to be placed in trust, in a segregated account.
4. Targets should be set to introduce project bank accounts throughout the public sector, to ensure the supply chain is guaranteed payment.
5. Pre-qualification processes should be standardised throughout the public sector.
6. The office of Public Procurement Ombudsman should be created to keep track of payment timeliness.

Integrity Software Systems,
First Floor, Landmark House East,
Alpha Court,
Lincoln,
United Kingdom,
LN6 3TA

Phone: 0345 340 3040

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