Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to introduce a statutory compulsory licensing scheme for builders.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is fully committed to implementing the Grenfell Inquiry recommendation that principal contractors working on higher-risk buildings should be licenced through a scheme managed by the Building Safety Regulator. We have accepted this recommendation as an important step in enhancing building safety standards.
We continue to engage with stakeholders as to whether a wider licencing scheme would improve standards of consumer protection. This work is progressing alongside our broader initiatives to enhance competency across the construction sector through the Industry Competence Committee, ensuring a comprehensive approach to raising standards throughout the industry.