The Federation of Piling Specialists (FPS) has welcomed the recent parliamentary debate [Wednesday 26th April; 12:30] calling for the introduction of legislation to protect cash retentions and calls on all parties to ensure the debate is followed with legislative action through the parliamentary process and towards a future where they are eliminated altogether.

The issue of cash retentions, which is estimated to amount to over £1 billion (1) of unpaid fees to UK contractors, formed part of a “Motion Debate” and specifically Alan Brown MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (SNP) argued for the introduction of legislation that can protect cash retentions, as well as highlighting how this “outdated” practice puts construction SMEs at risk.

Alasdair Henderson, Chair of the FPS said: “It is good to see this particular aspect of cash retentions back on the legislative agenda as it is a real and concerning issue to our [FPS] members as well as the much wider construction sector. The FPS, together with many other industry bodies, has long called for the introduction of legislation, such as that which exists already in parts of Europe, to ensure that cash retentions are protected from insolvency risk and released on time. More broadly, the FPS welcomes the trend towards eliminating cash retentions in the industry as part of our support for responsible commercial practices in construction.”

The motion was accepted and Alan Brown was given leave to introduce the Bill where it will proceed to a second reading scheduled for the 12 May 2017.

(1) Collective amount indicated from analysis by the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group of the UK’s top 12 construction companies – February 2017-