Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, in partnership with the construction sector, to reform the practice of retentions; and when they expect to announce results.

The Government continues to work with the construction sector, through the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), to tackle the problems caused by the late or non-payment of retentions. The CLC is currently taking forward work on a project to reduce the need for retentions through reducing defects and has agreed to reduce the default rate of retentions to zero in NEC construction contracts. The Government has also consulted on whether reporting on retentions should be included within the payment performance Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations and will respond to this as soon as possible.