Steve Bratt, ECA Group CEO said, ‘Dealing with payment abuse is vital to the industry because it strangles investment and growth. In addition, payment abuse can – and does – kill construction businesses.
We’re naturally pleased that the new strategy recognises the vital importance of being paid on time, but going forward, we believe that the strategy needs to pay as much attention to this key issue as it does to others such as seeking growth abroad, skills, and the green agenda.’
Bratt added, ‘We welcome what the strategy has to say about the pivotal challenge of ensuring proper skills in our industry, and the potentially huge opportunities afforded by green retrofitting and BIM, for example. We also acknowledge that the strategy document is only the start of a process, to be carried forward under the Construction Leadership Council. But we need to see much more on dealing with poor payment practice in the months to follow, and we are ready to contribute to that process.’
Addressing payment problems has been at the heart of ECA’s input into the development of the strategy, as part of SEC Group. ECA members also met recently with Michael Fallon MP in May to highlight the scale of the issue, and to suggest solutions.
