Over one in four councils switch to PAS prequal

Aaron Morby 9 years ago
Share

Local authorities are finally switching to standardised prequalification in a bid to save the industry an estimated £1bn wasted annually in filling in forms.

Rudi Klein urges Government to make the use of PAS 91 a regulatory requirement
Rudi Klein urges Government to make the use of PAS 91 a regulatory requirement

According to the findings from a survey of almost 200 English councils 27% of local authorities are now using the PAS 91 standard pre-qualification questionnaire exclusively.  A further 36% are using the standard questionnaire published by the Crown Commercial Service.

But only 11% of councils insisted that tier 1 contractors use standard questionnaires down the supply chain.

The survey was carried out by the Specialist Engineering Contractors’Group found that while significant progress has been made in standardising the pre-qualification process, use of project bank accounts has failed to gain traction.

SEC Group CEO, Professor Rudi Klein, said: “I take heart from the fact that more and more councils are now using standard pre-qualification questionnaires. 

“I hope this trend continues because, across the UK, firms are wasting over £1bn a year on needlessly filling in questionnaires and duplicating this exercise many times over.”

SEC is now urging the Government to make the use of PAS 91 a regulatory requirement under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

The survey also revealed there was still no standard approach to assessing firms’ technical capabilities.

Only 6% of authorities valued trade association membership, while 18% relied on references.  A fifth of councils relied on information about previous experience.

On standard contract forms local authorities were found to prefer the NEC for large capital works while JCT tended to be used for small value works. Almost 40% of councils now require their main contractors to use standard sub-contracts.

Take-up of project bank accounts – where payments are ring-fenced in one pot and discharged simultaneously to the supply chain – by councils remains slow but their use is increasing; fourteen councils are considering using them. 

The lack of take-up is generally due to lack of information about PBAs rather than resistance to using them.

Latest news

New law to force tower block cladding fix by 2029

Jail threat looms as £1bn fund launched to fix unsafe social housing
6 hours ago

Infrastructure Pipeline published with 780 projects worth £530bn

New online tool to provide live updates on hundreds of schemes
11 hours ago

BAM boots Danny Sullivan off £100m HS2 bat tunnel

Contractor terminates labour supply deal on controversial project
16 hours ago

World’s largest crane lifts Hinkley dome: Video

Construction times cut by 30% on nuclear site
9 hours ago

Flannery invests £22m with JCB to boost fleet

Plant hirer strikes latest deal with machinery giant as fleet investment continues
11 hours ago

Mace confirmed for £200m Paddington overstation job

Helical JV also sets start date for 429-room student job over Southwark station
17 hours ago

Kier names new construction boss for clients and markets

Rebecca Boundy promoted to lead sector teams after year of framework wins
17 hours ago

Elements Europe went down owing supply chain £8.7m

Korean owner kept offsite specialist afloat with £71.8m of loans in bid to stem losses
2 days ago

Bristol awards £288m civils and highways framework

Eurovia, Tarmac, Colas and regional SMEs share 10-lot deal
18 hours ago

Kier seals PCSA deal for £55m Bridgend school

Heronbridge special school move back on track after cost hike and delay
18 hours ago

Mobile crane fire closes M11 motorway

City Lifting machine catches fire in Essex
18 hours ago

Altius and Erith win landmark London tower rebuild

Westminster council advances Huguenot House redevelopment
2 days ago

Corbyn suppliers left £4.4m out-of-pocket

£33m-turnover civils contractor only employed eight staff
2 days ago

McAlpine to restore England’s largest Victorian water tower

Colchester’s iconic ‘Jumbo’ to be reborn as visitor destination
2 days ago

Andrew Scott lands £20m Grand Pavilion revamp in Porthcawl

Restoration of landmark Art Deco building gets underway with 2027 finish target
2 days ago

Keepmoat profit drops 35% as completions slide

Land pipeline expands to 24,400 plots as firm eyes rebound
2 days ago

Bid race begins for £425m water transfer scheme

Contractors invited to help shape Affinity Water project
2 days ago

Legacy building defects return to haunt Barratt Redrow

House builder sets aside £248m for Redrow fire and concrete frame fixes
3 days ago

Skanska agrees £153m price to revamp A47 Thickthorn junction

New link roads and underpasses to ease traffic near Norwich
3 days ago

First tower plans go in for £1bn Liverpool Pier Head site

First design will "set tone" of scheme which could contain 60-storey tower
3 days ago

Barhale creates new low-carbon chief board role

Haddon takes board seat while Solomon becomes eastern regional director
3 days ago

Met Police preps £300m framework for estate upgrade

Early market talks start ahead of October bid contest
3 days ago

Raft of SME firms win £94m framework places

More than 50 demolition and asbestos specialists chosen: Full list
3 days ago

GRAHAM gets go-ahead for £110m Boddingtons Brewery revamp

Work to start this summer after Gateway 2 approval secured
4 days ago

Thames Water finance chief joins BAM UK & Ireland

Abigail Farrell-Black joins contractor as new finance head after senior roles at Thames and Southern Water
4 days ago

FM Conway profit jumps to £33m under Vinci

Turnover hits £608m and cash surges £68m just two months into new ownership
4 days ago

McAlpine breaks ground at £1.25bn Port Talbot green steel job

Port Talbot switch to scrap-powered production by 2027
4 days ago

Cappagh lands £136m Portsmouth Water deals

Utility specialist wins AMP8 contracts for infrastructure and smart meters
4 days ago

Rethink over “anti-dumping” tariffs on Chinese diggers

Fair trade body reconsiders ruling after lobbying by manufacturers
4 days ago

Sparks agree near 4% wage increase from 2026

Top hourly rate in London to rise to £26.70 under JIB deal
4 days ago