Business minister cuts procurement red tape

The industry has been quick to welcome a Government plan to simplify pre-qualification for construction contracts, a move that could save the industry £250 million a year. Instead of businesses perhaps being required to answer a different set of questions every time they bid for new Government contracts, there is now a standard prequalification questionnaire (PAS91), which is available as a free download. The announcement was made by business minister Mark Prisk.

John Andrews, chief executive at NAPIT, the National Association of Professional Inspectors & Testers, which has nearly 200 members, praised the minister for his speed in taking such positive action.

His view is echoed by the managing director of contractor W. Wright Electrical, Bill Wright, who says, ‘As a contractor who regularly fills out these questionnaires, I fully support the publication of PAS91, and I am pleased to see that it is gaining wide support across the industry.

‘What matters now is that clients and major contractors adopt or, when they need more information, build upon this important document. This will help to minimise costly and unnecessary paperwork and place the focus where it should be — assessing contractors’ capabilities.’

PAS91 has been developed with the direct involvement of the Electrical Contractors’ Association, the Specialist Engineering Contractors Group, the National Federation of Builders, the Federation of Master Builders and the Civil Engineering Contractors’ Association.

Mark Prisk, said, ‘Ensuring that public-sector procurement practices are not wasteful has always been important, but the current economic climate brings that into even sharper focus.

‘This is a good example of how Government can work with key suppliers to develop an approach which meets the needs of both the public-sector clients and the private-sector suppliers.’