An industry delegation met with Welsh Office minister David Jones yesterday (24 Feb). Their specific complaint was about their exclusion from the £250m school building programme in Gwynedd, Ceredigion and Powys, where six major English-based contractors were appointed to the framework, including Bam, Carillion and Laing O’Rourke, but no Welsh ones.
The delegation included: Chris Wynne, managing director of Denbighshire-based Wynne Construction; Glyn Watkin-Jones, chairman of Bangor-based Watkin Jones; and Nigel Roberts, commercial director at Rhyl-based Roger W Jones. They were joined by Paul Williams, Welsh conservative assembly candidate for Ynys Môn.
Mr Williams told The Daily Post afterwards: “This meeting was an opportunity for David Jones to listen to the concerns of Welsh construction companies and pass on the message to government. It’s not just about getting the best price it’s about giving companies like these a fair shake of the stick.”
Mr Wynne said that the practice of bundling contracts was threatening the future of North Wales-based construction firms.
He said: “We’re not against frameworks but we want a chance to compete for the work. At the moment they’re working against us – if it carries on it will signal our demise. If contracts like these go out of North Wales to companies in other areas then those companies often use their own suppliers, not suppliers in this area.”
The minister responded that the coalition wants to see 25% of government contracts going to SMEs. He said: “We have introduced measures to achieve this and recognise SMEs are the backbone of the Welsh economy. From Whitehall's perspective, we are keen to see SMEs having a full opportunity to seek government contracts.”
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