Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking following the publication of the summary of the responses to the consultation on the 2011 amendments to the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, to improve the dispute resolution framework in construction industry.

The Government acknowledges that non-payment and late payment are significant problems for small businesses in the UK, and we remain fully committed to tackling them.

Part 2 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (‘the Construction Act’) creates a framework for fair and prompt payment through the construction supply chain, and a resolution procedure for disputes.

The Post-Implementation Review of the 2011 Amendments to the Construction Act will formally assess the impact on the construction sector.

The stakeholder responses to the consultation which supported the Post-Implementation Review broadly favoured the principles of the framework and dispute resolution procedure.