Small and Medium-sized Housebuilders Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Lord Aberdare
Main Page: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)Department Debates - View all Lord Aberdare's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Small and Medium-sized Housebuilders
Lord Aberdare Excerpts(1 year, 4 months ago)
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Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
I think we need both types. We need the large developers building large numbers of houses; we also need to support our SMEs across this country. My noble friend is absolutely right. That is why we see quite a lot in the LUR Bill about beautiful homes for people in this country. Therefore, local authorities will in future have to produce design codes for their areas.
Lord Aberdare (CB)
My Lords, one way of helping small and medium-sized housebuilders would be finally to end the pernicious practice of retentions. Many small construction firms, often with very low profit margins, are crippled by having up to 5% of the funds owed to them withheld, and sometimes never paid at all. Roofing firms alone are currently owned £300 million. This prevents them investing in growth through skills or technology, and may even force them into insolvency. There were over 4,000 construction insolvencies in the year to March 2023. What specific progress are the Government making to deliver their long-standing goal of ending retentions by 2025, and specifically in removing retentions from all public contracts?