Tackling Rogue Builders

Debate between Mark Garnier and Nigel Huddleston

Tuesday 13th June 2023 Westminster Hall

[Nigel Huddleston]

Yes, we are aware of the challenges with the small claims court. Of course, many building works go above £10,000. The Ministry of Justice is also looking at other forms of redress and procedures, and I understand that those are live considerations within Government. I am happy to forward my hon. Friend’s comments to the relevant Ministers, but we do understand the challenges with the small claims court. It works in many circumstances but it is not right for everybody.

We know that consumers would prefer swift, cost-effective and less time-consuming measures to settle their differences with business. That is why, following the recommendations of the independent “Each Home Counts” review in 2016, the Government have worked with the industry to establish the TrustMark scheme. This created the first Government-endorsed quality scheme for homeowners across a range of trades and types of work. TrustMark provides consumers with a single brand to identify schemes run within the industry that require participating firms and tradespeople to demonstrate competence, and which provide for consumer redress.

We are also working with the industry to ensure that high standards of consumer protection are embedded in relation to domestic households.

[Mark Garnier]

The TrustMark scheme is great and is a very good start, but it is not compulsory, which means that a lot of consumers do not necessarily know about it. If they do not know about it, they do not know whether they should be asking for it in the first place. The key point is that we can run on TrustMark, but if that becomes the standard it needs to be made compulsory.

[Nigel Huddleston]

I completely understand the arguments that my hon. Friend makes. He is right: it is not compulsory, but it is an important signal, and a good signal to the industry. It is Government-endorsed, which is also important. We certainly encourage people, when they are seeking such works, to look for that TrustMark, because it is an important indicator.

In this area, and on all the things that my hon. Friend has raised today, the important principle is getting the right balance, as he acknowledged in his speech. That means not overburdening industry and small traders, most of whom operate very effectively and professionally, but we have to make sure that we have systems and processes in place so that when things go wrong, there is appropriate redress.

My hon. Friend mentioned that the temptation, certainly for most of us, is not to overburden businesses with regulation. There will always be an ongoing debate. I appreciate that he has had consistent engagement with the Department and multiple Ministers and that he has brought many other representations from industry to the attention of the Department. We appreciate that, because these are live debates.