Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Retention payments in the construction industry consultation: summary of responses, published in February 2020, what progress he has made on that document’s next steps, including on the policy options under consideration.

The Government continues to work with the Construction Leadership Council to resolve the problems associated with cash retentions. Any policy solution must be a sustainable one that works for the industry and its clients, addressing both the need for surety and fair payment.

The Government is currently consulting on proposals on the inclusion of retention payments under the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017.

Other Council work includes supporting a pilot project with the Get It Right Initiative to reduce defects, and collaboration with the bodies responsible for construction contractual documentation to discourage the withholding of retentions.