The Federation of Master Builders has announced the reelection of Najem Al Hasan as its Scottish President.

Mr Al Hasan is from Livingston, West Lothian, and was elected on Wednesday 28 November at FMB Scotland’s Annual General Meeting in Glasgow.

He is director of Livingston Chartered Building Company Scotia Construction Ltd.

Commenting on his appointment, he said: "I am thrilled to be re-elected FMB Scotland President and I look forward to representing FMB Scotland Members during this difficult period for the construction industry."

Mr Al Hasan represented the FMB at the Cross Party Group on Construction on Wednesday 5 December; his first outing as the new president.

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The event was attended by Nigel Don MSP and Margaret McCulloch MSP.

The new president spoke on the subject of retentions.

He said: "Retentions are killing the construction industry. Very few SMEs have the resources to chase all monies due to them and litigation is frequently too expensive – many subcontractors go out of business with thousands of pounds owed to them by principal contractors.

"The FMB supports the use of Project Bank Accounts in public construction contracts. A Project Bank Account is a ring-fenced bank account from which payments are made by a client to members of his supply chain. They have trust status, which in the case of insolvency, monies in the account due for payment to the supply chain is secure and can only be paid to them."

He added: "There are other major advantages to Project Bank Accounts; SMEs in the supply chain receive payment in five days or less from the due date, which helps SMEs protect their often very fine margins."

(IT)