As the Scottish government prepares to unveil its proposals for reforming procurement, the Specialist Engineering Contractors' Group Scotland has laid down a strong marker about what it would like to see in the new Bill.

The SEC Group Scotland, which represents the interests of electricians, plumbers, heating and ventilation engineers, lift and escalator specialists and structural steel engineers, has campaigned tirelessly to improve construction performance and remove payment abuses such as late payments and unnecessary retentions.

The group has published its own agenda, listing the steps it sees as vital to bolster construction industry efficiency and fairness.

"We are excited by the efforts being made by the Scottish government to overcome inefficiencies and poor practice in the construction industry,” said SEC chairman Eddie Myles. "We intend to work very closely with the government to support those efforts and to that end we want to emphasise the priorities which should underpin the forthcoming legislation."

The SEC Agenda items include:

SEC Scotland comprises SELECT, the trade body for the electrotechnical industry in Scotland, the Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers' Federation (SNIPEF), the Building and Engineering Services Association (B&ES), the Lift and Escalator Industry Association (LEIA) and the British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCS).

As well as considering aspects of the procurement process, including purchase and payment and means of protecting the supply chain, SEC Scotland has already been a strong advocate of project bank accounts. Its campaigning strength was illustrated earlier this year when the Scottish government agreed to trial PBAs across the country as part of its procurement review.