Jarvis in school trouble

Jarvis' £59m schools PFI with Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council has hit further problems after it emerged the contractor has failed to pay some subcontractors.

Jarvis was due to complete 10 schools by 31 March, two more by 8 April and eight more by 31 August. When approached, the first 12 schools told CJ that they had all experienced delays in work being completed by their respective deadlines.

One source told CJ that at least half of the 12 schools had seen payment issues surface, leading to a delay in delivery.

The source added that at Royds Hall High School, one of the final eight, payment failure led to electrical and plumbing subcontractor Santone walking off site. Emergency payments were made and the contractor completed work two weeks after the stated deadline.

Jarvis offered a different point of view: "The M&E subcontractor at Royds Hall threatened to pull off the site. It did not remove its staff as Jarvis Construction resolved the payment issue promptly and the subcontractor was happy."

Neither Santone nor Kirklees council would comment.

Earlier this year the Department for Education and Skills investigated allegations of poor workmanship on the scheme (CJ 15 January).