Government’s latest payment plan must not fail, says BESA
The latest government plan to tackle unfair payment practices in construction must not be allowed to fail, according to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA). The government is
consulting the industry until April 28 on a new retentions and late payment reporting scheme that would improve the amount of information available to contractors to help them negotiate better payment terms and avoid
working for companies with poor payment records. The proposal would update the existing Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations and follows a government review. “The late payment problem cannot be entirely addressed by means of legislation,” said the Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business Kevin Hollinrake. “It is ultimately a matter of encouraging a culture change in payment practices and how businesses deal with each other. “But we want to continue to help to build that culture of
prompt payment between companies and challenge UK businesses to improve their practices and stand by their smaller business partners.”
Awareness
Five years on from the collapse of Carillion, BESA said it was crucial that main contractors were no longer allowed “to mark their own homework” and welcomed the proposal to make individual directors responsible for a company meeting its fair payment pledges. Under the proposed changes, companies would be
required to report the average number of days taken to make retention payments, after practical completion and the end of the contractual defects liability period. They would also have to report how many retention payments were paid in 30 days or fewer, between 31 and 60 days, and in 61 days or more. The government would also require firms to publish the average value of the retentions they held as a percentage of the overall contract and which retentions were not paid in the agreed period and why. “BESA will be providing a detailed response to the consultation and emphasising that measuring payment by value is the best way to gauge how well a company is performing,” said the Association’s legal and commercial director Debbie Petford. She said proper enforcement would also be vital as there had been too many ‘voluntary’ pledges on late and unfair payment over the years, which have not helped the cause of sub-contractors struggling to claim fair payment “for work they have completed in good faith”.
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NEWS & QUOTES Quote, unquote
David Knipe, Training Manager at OFTEC said the following about the importance of training to deliver on Net Zero ambitions…
“The way we heat our homes is going to change over the next few years which presents a real opportunity for installers. Technicians who diversify today will have a head start and futureproof their business. “Whilst we see liquid fuels as continuing to have a major role in the off-grid sector through a transition to greener fuels such as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), the growing role of heat pumps can’t be ignored. That’s why the training sector is so important. “Consumers are going to need guidance on whether the technology is suitable for their home and competent technicians to maintain high safety standards. OFTEC technicians should be front and centre with the expertise to install the full range of off- grid technologies.”
OFTEC is delivering two subsidised heat pump training courses through its network of 17 approved training centres. Technicians who enrol on the course before the end of March 2023 can also benefit from a discount of up to 70% after OFTEC’s successful application for funding through BEIS’ £9.2m Home Decarbonisation Skills Training competition.
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Hydrogen Week: Call for consultation response from heating professionals
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With regards to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA), chief executive Mike Foster has called for the scheme to come to an end. He said: “This policy has always been flawed. Part subsidising a heat pump installation with a £5000 bung leaves the remaining costs, average of an extra £8000, to be met by the consumer. Only the well-off need apply, which in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis with fuel poverty levels rocketing, is entirely the wrong priority.” “With energy bills set to climb by another 20 per cent in April, pumping money into the hands of those who wish to go green, rather than helping those who are forced to choose between heating and eating, is immoral.”
“The idea that subsidising 30,000 UK heat pumps would drive down the cost of a global product, with 2 million sold across the EU last year, is frankly for the birds. Subsidies like this tend to drive up costs; it is technology that slashes them.” “The BUS is failing to meet its targets, falling way short. It should be paying out 2,500 vouchers a month, in January it paid out just 920. And because the money is tied up in the scheme, it can’t be used to fund sensible measures like insulation that permanently reduce bills and carbon emissions. Insulation can also be targeted at the least well-off, making it a fairer policy too.”
To mark the first UK Hydrogen Week, a heating and hot water solutions provider has called for the industry to respond to the Government’s pivotal Improving boiler standards and efficiency consultation.
Setting out the next steps for home heating decarbonisation, the consultation covers a range of topics around natural gas boiler installations, heating controls, the potential role for hybrid heat pumps in the future, and a proposal for mandating ‘hydrogen-ready’ boilers from 2026. With the potential to change heating professionals’ working lives significantly, Baxi wants to highlight the importance of responding to the consultation to ensure the heating industry has an active role in shaping the policy decisions set to determine the long-term future of the sector. Baxi has been involved in renewable heating development, including hydrogen demonstration projects and research across the country. Most recently, Baxi has partnered with H2Go Power to deliver what’s described as a world-first commercial hydrogen boiler and demonstrate the technology’s potential to decarbonise multiple industries. Furthering expertise in hydrogen being made available to Baxi is from its parent company, BDR Thermea, which have recently launched a hydrogen pilot in the Dutch town of Lochem. The company is using its 100% hydrogen boilers in 12 inhabited homes – which closely resemble the UK’s existing housing stock in age and energy efficiency – with hydrogen supplied via an existing natural gas grid.
6 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER MARCH 2023
Jeff House, external affairs and policy director at Baxi UK and Ireland, said: “We are thrilled to see the UK’s first UK Hydrogen Week take place, highlighting the sheer scale of research and development taking place to explore the viability of the fuel as part of a practical route to net zero for our industry. Baxi’s commitment to developing hydrogen appliances as low carbon alternatives to natural gas is a key part of our wider strategy of lowering emissions from heating and hot water provision. “We hope initiatives like Hydrogen Week will increase the support and urgency at which we push hydrogen as one of the key pillars of decarbonisation, in addition to guiding policy in the area.” With hydrogen-ready technology for heating applications mentioned by the Government in its latest consultation, policy direction could be pointing towards the technology as one of the solutions for the future. Mr House added: “Whatever the rules and regulations put in place by the Government, the industry is moving towards a low carbon future, with heat pumps, hybrid systems, heat networks and hydrogen all set to play their part in this effort. To ensure we achieve this goal, it is vital that we take a pragmatic approach informed by the perspectives of that heating professionals who live and breathe our industry. We’d urge everyone involved in the heating industry to provide feedback on the consultation to ensure the policies it will ultimately result in are suitable and achievable.”
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In his presidential address to association members and guests, BESA president Rab Fletcher said the building services sector had a pivotal role to play in tackling the energy, climate change, cost of living, and building safety crises confronting the country. He said this year “would be very tough” for the industry but that building engineers were in a privileged position because they could make a difference and influence the future. “These are big problems for the UK, but they are also opportunities for us to demonstrate the value of this industry and why our expertise matters,” he said. “BESA will continue to champion our role, drive
improvements in technical and professional standards, and support training as we strive to create a workforce capable of rising to these challenges.”
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