Subbie pay row erupts in House of Lords

Backers of fair payment plans for subcontractors have attacked the government for a lack of support for reforms to the Construction Act.

The ex-Director General of the Office of Fair Trading, Lord Borrie, described the government's response to his proposed amendments to the act as "inadequate".

Lord Borrie launched his critique during the Committee Stage of the debate on his amendments in the House of Lords.

He has insisted that the government provides a more detailed account of its position in relation to the amendments which include:

A single statutory adjudication procedure

Simplification of the payment process so that it is initiated by the payee (as in all other industries)

A statutory period of time in which the payer can respond to the payee’s application

Complete abolition of pay-when-paid arrangements

The statutory right to suspension to be extended to the situation where a payer is unable to provide adequate security for payment.

Speaking after the debate Trevor Hursthouse, Chairman of the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ (SEC) Group, said: "I am delighted that Lord Borrie’s amendments have had their first hearing in the House of Lords.  This represents the first round of the process and the amendments will continue to be debated in the remaining legislative stages in the House of Lords and, again, in the House of Commons".