NEC ECC: At what point is a programme treated as being submitted for acceptance

Is there a point at which a programme submitted with a contractors tender has to be treated as the first programme submitted for acceptance?

A contractor is raising an early warning for the mobilisation period prior to the access date and making reference to the programme submitted during the tender and appointment process as not having been “not accepted”. His claim is that as he was awarded the contract the programme was accepted.

The contract is NEC3 option A and Contract data part 1 required programmes to be submitted at intervals no more than monthly.

31.3 makes reference to the first programme as being submitted within the stated period i.e. no later than 1 month.

Does this timeframe kick in following the contract date or the access date?

Basically, what contractual standing does the programme submitted as part of a tender have?

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Hi Neil. Have a look in CDP2 of the contract - there is a space to insert reference to the programme. When you enter into contract, a programme referenced in that section becomes the first accepted programme. Thereafter you are in the contractual cycle. There is no “treated” provision in NEC3. If CDP2 is blank, then there is no first programme at the date of entering into contract, and this is where the 1 month/ 31.3 comes in. The tender programme is irrelevant.

I think the bigger more specific point here is not whether the Contractor issued a programme at tender, but whether they referenced that said programme in contract data part 2. If they have, then by default that is the first Accepted Programme.

If they have not referenced it then not sure what contractual part it plays and certainly no point it would ever be deemed accepted?

Programme intervals would then be from the contract date (not access date).