It is now expected that new procurement regulations will be introduced requiring public bodies to drive 30-day payment through the supply chain, according to Prof.Rudi Klein writing in the September issue of SpecFinish.

The absence of legislation around 30-day payment in the proposed Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill caused some surprise among specialist contractors. It is believed that 30-day payment periods and standardised prequalification on public sector contracts could be introduced as part of a revision to the EU Public Procurement Directives before the end of this year, says Prof. Klein.

David Frise, chief executive at AIS FPDC, said: “We’d welcome any moves to improve payment and reduce duplication of effort in prequalification. Poor payment and prequalification put serious pressure on our members at a time when resources could be better used to improve productivity.”

Click here to see the review of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill.