This Guidebook has been prepared by members of the Welsh Construction Forum to support the implementation of Project Bank Accounts (PBAs) on all appropriate construction and infrastructure projects in Wales.
The aim of the Guidebook is to provide construction clients and members of the supply chain with 12 simple steps to ensure that PBAs can be established as quickly and as easily as possible to safeguard payments during the course of a project.
Whilst the development of the Guidebook has involved a number of Forum members specific acknowledgement is accorded to Michelle Morgan-Loughman and Professor Rudi Klein of Actuate UK (Wales) who drafted the document.
Ministerial Foreword
The Welsh Construction Forum was established in June 2020, following the introduction of Covid19 lockdown measures, to allow public and private sectors to discuss and to address joint areas of concern across the construction and infrastructure sectors in Wales.
Industry partners identified priority areas which needed to be addressed to create a more sustainable environment for businesses to thrive and to better deliver the infrastructure, buildings and housing needed in Wales. One of these priority areas was the need for fair, prompt and secure payment for supply chains.
Cashflow is the lifeblood of any business, and it has been the policy of the Welsh Government that Welsh Government departments apply Project Bank Accounts (PBAs) to all government funded projects over a £2million threshold to safeguard payments unless there are “compelling reasons” not to do so. This supports our commitment to increase business confidence, to strengthen our foundation economy and to support the growth of SMEs in Wales.
I am pleased that the collective efforts of the Forum have quickly led to the development of this simple guidebook to support the implementation of PBAs across the sector and to complement existing Welsh Government policies and guidance. This is an important step forward in improving the business environment in which we deliver construction and infrastructure projects across Wales and I would urge both public and private sector partners to apply it on all appropriate projects. Lee Waters MS, Deputy Minister Climate Change.