THE 30 DAYS WAR

摘要

When groundworks contractor O'Donnell Development went into administration last month it was just the latest name on a growing list of specialist contractors brought down by falling workloads and uncertainty over payments. The government had hoped that this was a problem it could do something about. In December 2010, keen to protect small businesses, it unveiled its Prompt Payment Code - a voluntary set of standards for government contractors, under which they promised to pay specialists right down to the third tier of the pecking order within 30 days of receiving payment from government.