FOI request (FOI227076)

Specialist Engineering Contractors' (SEC) Group

Requested Thu 30 November 2017
Responded  Thu 30 November 2017

1.    For construction and building maintenance contracts established since 1 January 2017, have you, or will you be putting in place monitoring and reporting whether your main contractors/suppliers are paying their sub-contractors/suppliers within 30 days? [Please choose]

A)   We are already monitoring and reporting that payment takes place within 30 days routinely

B)   We will be monitoring and reporting that payment takes place within 30 days routinely

C)   We don't and will not be monitoring and reporting that payment takes place within 30 days

D)   If you don't know, please provide information on what policy you do pursue

2.    For construction and building maintenance contracts established since 1 January 2017, have you built in a contractual requirement for your suppliers to pay the suppliers directly below them in the supply chain within 30 days (or are you taking steps to apply this)? [Please choose]

A)   We have built in a contractual requirement for payment to flow through the supply chain within 30 days routinely

B)   We are taking steps to apply a contractual requirement for payment to flow through the supply chain within 30 days routinely

C)   We have not and will not be building in a contractual requirement for payment to flow through the supply chain within 30 days

D)   If you don't know, please provide information on what policy you do pursue

3.    For construction and building maintenance contracts established since 1 January 2017, do you deduct cash retentions from your main contractors/suppliers? [Please indicate any answers that describe your current position - it could be more than one]

A). We do not deduct cash retentions

B). We deduct cash retentions up to 5%

C). We deduct retention above 5%

4. When you regularly deduct cash retentions, do you use the cash:

[Please indicate any answers that describe your current position - it could be more than one]

A). To bolster your working capital

B). To fund other construction-related activities

C). To fund other activities (not related to construction)

D). To invest in overnight money markets

E) OTHER: Please specify

5. For construction and maintenance contracts established since January 2017:

[Please choose]

A). If you do not deduct cash retentions, do you insist that your main supplier/contractor does not deduct cash retentions from their sub-contractors/suppliers too.

B). You do not impose any contractual requirements on your main suppliers about cash retentions from their sub-contractors/suppliers

C). OTHER: Please specify?

Response

Hastings Borough Council is a relatively small urban district council that whilst was big into regeneration a decade ago, is now minimal and largely contained to just a couple of small building conversion projects and reactive maintenance. Q1 - Answer: D) We identified this as a potential issue based on anecdotal evidence about 3 years ago and are committed to monitoring that payment takes place within 30 days routinely. We have yet to decide how we might report this either internally or externally bearing in mind that we will be commissioning only a handful of contractors.

Q2 -  Answer: B) We are taking steps to apply a contractual requirement for payment to flow through the supply chain within 30 days routinely. Q3 - Answer: B). We deduct cash retentions up to 5%. Q4 - Answer: D) To invest in overnight money markets. Q5 - Answer: C) it is our practice to follow the industry norm and protect the council.