Contractors complain of late payments

The government will be asked this morning to exclude Jarvis from any future private finance initiative contracts on the grounds of its allegedly poor record on payments to subcontractors.

Nigel Griffiths, the minister for construction, is meeting officials from the Specialist Engineering Contractors Group who are incensed about the late handover of money by Jarvis and other firms.

"We think the government should bar public sector bodies whether dealing directly or through PFI deals from hiring companies with poor payment records such as Jarvis," said Rudi Klein, the chief executive of the SECG group. He says companies like Jarvis use 90-day payment schedules and "retentions" to withhold money until a project has been signed off. This is "unacceptable", according to Mr Klein, who says his organisation has received more complaints from members about Jarvis than any other company.

Jarvis said it had not received any approach from the SECG and argued its payment record was as good as any in the industry.