I read with interest Lindy Patterson鈥檚 article on project bank accounts (23 May, page 59) and thought to myself, if she had actually attended, as I did, the conference at the House of Commons that she wrote about, she would have had the opportunity to hear the answers to the three concerns she raised..

鈥� Client take-up. A number of public sector clients are considering project bank accounts, but is any sensible client, Highways Agency or whoever, going to do a 鈥淭5鈥� and commit everything to a new system without trialling it first?

鈥� Set-off. Project bank accounts don鈥檛 cut across contractual withholding provisions 鈥� they are simply a streamlined payment medium and safe receptacle for the cash. If a lead contractor wishes to withhold money, he simply reflects this in the interim payment he agrees with the client and the instructions to the bank

鈥� Insolvency. The account鈥檚 trust status means that the cash is not owned in the first place by the main contractor or subcontractors 鈥� they are the beneficiaries of the trust. The protection provided by a legally valid trust has been well tested 鈥� they can successfully keep administrators and liquidators at bay.

Having used project bank accounts for a number of years, I know what they can achieve. Payment ceases to be a diversion and the focus moves to delivering value. Relationships are transformed with a genuine 鈥� not manufactured 鈥� trust. It is surely time to stop sniping and start doing.

Brian Kilgallon, partner, Rider Levett Bucknall

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