The Alliance was pleased to attend the recent launch of the Federation of Master Builders’ (FMB) report ‘Licence to build: A pathway to licensing UK construction’ in the House of Lords.
Speakers included the Construction Minister Richard Harrington MP; the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP; and Liberal Democrat Peer Baroness Maddock. PoliticsHome has published an article which includes some of the key quotes.
New consumer research undertaken by the FMB reveals the impact poor quality building firms are having on consumers and demonstrates that most home owners support the introduction of a mandatory licensing scheme. Key results from both pieces of research include:
77% of small and medium-sized construction firms support the introduction of licensing to professionalise the industry, protect consumers and side line the cowboys;
78% of consumers also want to see a licensing scheme for construction introduced;
Nearly 90% of home owners believe that the Government should criminalise rogue and incompetent builders;
Over half of people (55%) who commission home improvement work have had a negative experience with their builder.