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Heathrow consultation on runway to begin in April


Heathrow has announced it will launch an eight-week public consultation to finalise its proposals for airport expansion following the recent decision by the UK’s aviation regulator, the CAA, to cap early spending on the project. The capping of spending has prolonged the construction period of a new third runway and means Heathrow will need to undertake refreshed modelling of key aspects of the plan – including public transport to and from the airport – to show that Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) targets can be met. The consultation


(www.heathrowconsultation.com) will run from April through to June, ensuring that communities can review and feed back. Heathrow will be writing to local authorities in the coming weeks with more information, offering them the opportunity to give their views on the approach to consultation. Responses will feed into the final planning application, to be submitted to the Planning


www.bifa.org


Inspectorate towards the end of 2020. Heathrow’s submission to the Planning Inspectorate will detail how the airport will expand and connect all of Britain to global growth, whilst meeting the requirements of the ANPS.


It will also restate Heathrow’s commitment to ensuring an expanded Heathrow meets strict environmental targets, delivers tens of thousands of new high-skilled jobs and honours commitments to local communities. If Heathrow’s plans are approved by the


Secretary of State, on the recommendation of the Planning Inspectorate, the third runway is expected to open between early 2028 and late 2029.


Heathrow’s executive director for expansion, Emma Gilthorpe, said: “This country is ready for a decade of infrastructure delivery underpinned by expansion at Heathrow. We are keen to ensure our plans continue to be supported and shaped by local people as we prepare to deliver the economic boost Britain needs.” In the coming weeks, Heathrow will announce dates and locations for consultation events as it also prepares to become one of the first major international airports to operate carbon neutral infrastructure.


Charging interest on late commercial payments


BIFA Secretariat receives regular enquiries from Members with regard to late payments of monies owed to them by clients. Collecting overdue monies can be a sensitive matter and much will depend on the wider business and commercial relationship between the Member and debtor. BIFA STC, when properly


incorporated can assist the Member, and various options are included within them to receive prompt payment. For the purpose of this brief article, we will focus on Clause 21 (D), which simply states that “The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 as amended shall apply to all sums due from the customer”. The rate of interest is fixed by


Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Rate of Interest) Order, introduced in 1998, which fixed the rate of interest at 8% above the official dealing rate per annum, otherwise


6


referred to as the base rate of the London clearing banks, which varies according to the decisions of the Bank of England. The other essential point that


Members have to establish is that monies are actually overdue. All commercial credit arrangements need to be clearly defined and agreed between the two parties. According to information on GOV.UK, this should be within 30 days for public authorities or 60 days for business transactions. Longer periods can be agreed, but this should be seen as fair to both parties. If a payment date is not agreed, the law states that the payment is late 30 days after either:


• The customer receives the invoice,


• You deliver the goods or provide the service (if this is later).


The interest that can be charged for the late payment for goods or a


service is ‘statutory interest’ – which as previously stated is 8% plus base rate for business-to- business transactions. If a different rate of interest has been included in the contract, you cannot claim statutory interest. The following example shows


how the correct interest can be calculated, assuming that the Member is owed £1,000 and the base rate is 0.5%. • Annual statutory interest on this will be £85 (£1,000.00 x 0.085 = £85);


• Divide £85.00 by 365 to calculate the daily interest amount: 23p per day (85/365 = 0.23);


• After 50 days this would be £11.50 (50 days x 0.23p).


If the decision is made to add


money to the amount owed, an additional invoice will need to be raised and sent to the debtor. In addition, Members can charge


a fixed sum for the cost of recovering a late commercial payment in addition to claiming interest from it. The amount that can be charged


is related to the size of the debt: Debt


Up to £999.99


£1,000 to £9,999.99 £10,000 and above


What can be charged £40.00 £70.00


£100.00 Once again, an invoice for the


correct amount should be raised and sent to the debtor. Debt collection can be


problematical and a credit control strategy needs to be devised that includes all aspects of the discipline. This includes correct evaluation of a customer’s ability to meet their debts, pay monies on time, etc. Using BIFA STC to ensure payment is another such method, and charging interest for late payments is an appropriate approach.


February 2020


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