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RK: You’re right Len. On Scottish


Government-funded projects you have a right to participate in a PBA, provided the value of your work is at least 1% of main contract value. If it is less, you can still ask to be included in the PBA. When involved in a PBA, SELECT Members should ensure they have notifi cation of the dates when their monies are paid into the PBA and also the amounts which have been paid in. It would be very helpful to us if Members could let us have their experiences of PBAs – contact iain.mason@select.org.uk to get in touch. LB: Again, to be clear – the PBA is about the timing of payments, not the amounts themselves, and the sub- contractor’s application for payment is processed in the normal way? RK: While PBAs signifi cantly reduce


payment times and protect your cash, they do not determine what is due. You have to submit your payment applications as you do now, although the time periods for this will be much shorter. If the main contractor disputes your application, you still have to resolve such dispute directly with him. One other point: A PBA is not a pay-when- paid arrangement. Your main contractor must pay you that which is properly due irrespective of what is in the PBA. LB: The guidance indicates that retention is not held in the PBA. RK: I’ve never understood this, Len. There’s no reason why retentions cannot be protected in a PBA. LB: I think this one of the


most important developments in the UK construction industry. Would you agree? RK: I have been lobbying for


almost 20 years to get PBAs in place. Not surprisingly, there was a massive backlash from main contractors eager to have


most prolifi c PBA user; by 2025, £17 billion of highways work will have been paid through PBAs. LB: What do you consider are the essential benefi ts of PBAs to SELECT Members? RK: The benefi ts for Members a re three-fold: ● Payments are discharged well within 30 days ● The monies in the PBA are


protected from upstream insolvencies


● There is greater scope for collaboration given that concerns over payment security are substantially reduced. LB: There are a few myths about concerning PBAs – so just to be clear, the sub-contractors do not need to pay anything to join the PBA, and it’s a very straightforward process?


unrestricted access to their supply chains’ cash and such opposition continues to this day. For me, PBAs are about instilling greater trust among the delivery team without which the industry is doomed to continue to under-perform. Finally, PBAs will overcome the age-old and ineffi cient practice of payments having to cascade through myriad contracting levels with payment periods becoming ever longer.


CABLEtalk JUNE/JULY 2021 51


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