鈥楢ldous Bill鈥� proposes to hold retentions in government-approved deposit schemes
Proposed legislation aiming to reform the practice of retentions in the construction industry has been revealed.
The bill, which is being introduced under the 鈥楾en Minute Rule鈥� by Conservative MP Peter Aldous (pictured), will have its first reading in parliament today.
It does not propose to abolish retentions, but to address the issue that this money is not protected from upstream insolvencies by holding all funds in government-approved retention deposit scheme.
Aldous said: 鈥淭here is a perfect logic in retentions but the system is being abused.鈥�
The proposal has attracted cross-party support with the full permitted complement of 12 sponsor MPs. This includes Sir Henry Bellingham (Conservative); Barry Sheerman (Labour); Caroline Lucas (Green Party); and Alan Brown (SNP).
The 鈥楢ldous Bill鈥� seeks to amend the 1996 Construction Act to ensure retention money is held in a deposit protection scheme 鈥� thus ending the issue of upstream insolvency and the working capital it takes from the industry and SMEs.
The average UK contractor has 拢27,500 withheld per year in retentions, which limits their ability to invest in apprentices; upskill existing employees; and improve