The publication of new retention data through Build UK’s Payment Performance Table marks a significant milestone in the long-running campaign to improve payment practices across construction. For the first time, reporting requirements now provide transparency around how retentions are being used and passed through supply chains, offering valuable insight into a practice that has impacted specialist contractors for decades.

Build UK’s latest data shows the real impact on cashflow through the supply chain.  It identifies that tier one contractors withhold retentions at an average rate of 2% and, typically, pass on 74% of the retentions withheld by their clients. The transparency has been welcomed by Government and comes at a pivotal moment, with the Commercial Payments Bill progressing through Parliament and expected to receive Royal Assent in 2027. The Bill proposes a package of measures including:

• A ban on construction retentions
• Maximum payment periods of 60 days in the private sector
• Mandatory interest on late payments
• Enhanced powers for the Small Business Commissioner
• Expanded payment reporting requirements

For FIS, the direction of travel is positive. The principle of reform is now broadly accepted and supported across Parliament. The challenge is ensuring that the legislation delivers meaningful improvements in cashflow and business resilience rather than simply moving withholding practices into different parts of the payment process.

Introducing the FIS Commercial Draft Policy Briefing Note

As the Bill enters Report Stage FIS has prepared a detailed briefing note examining the Commercial Payments Bill and its implications for the finishes and interiors sector. The document sets out FIS’s current position, identifies areas where the Bill could be strengthened and highlights risks that could undermine its intended benefits.  It aims to support both our own engagement with Government and any work members are doing directly with local MP or wider groups.

The key questions

While FIS supports the abolition of retentions, we are conscious that simply removing one mechanism does not guarantee better payment behaviour.

Our analysis focuses on several critical questions:

• How do we prevent retentions being replaced by delayed certification, extended verification periods or prolonged final account negotiations?
• What safeguards are required to stop alternative forms of withholding emerging?
• How can payment rights be enforced economically by SMEs?
• How do we ensure the Small Business Commissioner has sufficient powers and resources?
• What further reforms to the Construction Act may be needed to support the objectives of the Bill?

Why we need member input

As the Bill progresses, several important issues remain open for debate.

FIS is particularly concerned about:

• The Bill getting diluted with some organisations advocating potential exemptions for certain client groups.
• The risk of retention practices reappearing under different contractual arrangements.
• The affordability and accessibility of replacement security products such as bonds.
• The practical operation of payment deadlines within construction contracts.
• Creating affordable dispute resolution processes to.

This is where member experience becomes essential.

Have your say

The FIS briefing note is therefore being issued as a consultation document to members.

We are particularly keen to hear:

• Whether the FIS policy positions reflect your experience.
• Examples of payment practices that could be used to circumvent the proposed retention ban.
• Views on retention bonds, latent defects insurance and other alternative security mechanisms.
• Evidence of delayed certification, verification procedures or final account processes impacting cashflow.
• Suggestions for strengthening enforcement and transparency.

The aim is not to reopen the principle of reform but to ensure that the final framework delivers genuine improvement for specialist contractors and does not simply relocate financial pressure elsewhere in the payment cycle.

The next phase

FIS will continue to work closely with parliamentarians, the civil service, and industry partners as the Commercial Payments Bill progresses. We support the Bill’s objectives and believe it offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve payment culture within construction. However, the legislation must be accompanied by practical reforms that make rights enforceable, prevent avoidance and ensure that money flows through the supply chain as intended.

We encourage all members to review the briefing note and share their views. Your feedback will help shape FIS’s engagement during the remaining stages of the Bill and ensure the voice of specialist contractors is heard as these important reforms move towards implementation.

340 decisions were made across all valid Gateway Two applications with an approval rate of 82% according to the latest Building Safety Regulator data for the period 11 May to 1 August 2026. However, 300 applications (47% of the total received) were deemed invalid or withdrawn in the same period. For the first time, NHS applications – covering a range of hospital building work from maintenance to new facilities – have been reported on separately.

This month marks a year since the establishment of the Innovation Unit, which has determined a total of 102 new build applications in that time. 75% have been approved or approved with requirements, with the median approval time reducing from 43 weeks to 22 weeks over the last year.

The BSR has provided its first data on ‘major change’ requests. Of the 181 live major change requests, 42% are new build, 33% are Category A and B, 12% are remediation, 12% are NHS, and 1% are transitional projects. New build change requests are currently taking on average seven weeks to close, against the statutory target of six weeks.

The BSR also received 45 Gateway Three applications during the last 12 weeks. There were 29 decisions made in an average time of 16 weeks with an approval rate of 72%. No new build projects that have been through Gateway Two have yet reached Gateway Three.  

Manual handling injuries remain one of the leading causes of workplace ill health and lost working time in construction, accounting for around 17%* of all reported non-fatal workplace injuries in the UK, making it one of the most significant contributors to lost working time in construction.

In drylining, operatives routinely handle large, heavy and often awkward materials within challenging site environments, making the associated risks particularly significant. UK boards are not necessarily larger or heavier than those used elsewhere in Europe, but their frequent manual handling in UK construction settings increases handling risk, highlighting the importance of awareness and safe practice.

To help tackle this issue, the Finishes and Interiors Sector (FIS) has launched a new course – An Introduction to Manual Handling for Dryliners – designed specifically for drylining contractors and operatives.

Developed in partnership with CITB, Construction People Solutions and FIS members, this course addresses concerns around the handling of plasterboard and other drylining materials on site. Its primary focus is to increase awareness of manual handling risks, promote safer working practices and reinforce the collective responsibility for health and safety throughout the construction process. Its other aspiration is to drive industry training that can easily be transposed on-site.

Speaking about the development of the course, Justin Devaney, FIS Vice President and Operations Director at FIS contractor member Platt and Reilly said:

“The FIS Introduction to Manual Handling for Dryliners e-Learning course is an important addition to the FIS Academy and a valuable resource for drylining and fit-out contractors.

“Evidence regularly shared across social media by plasterboard load-out service providers highlights that unsafe and high-risk manual handling practices continue to take place on construction sites. Too often, these activities go unchallenged despite the responsibility shared by site managers, supervisors, and operatives to maintain safe working practices.

“It’s important that everyone in the chain is responsible for site safety and not just the person carrying out the task. This course provides practical, drylining-specific guidance and should form part of every contractor’s health and safety toolkit.”

FIS Head of Skills and Training Beena Nana added:

“We have developed this training with CITB and Construction People Solutions to support our members, providing practical guidance that reflects today’s working practices, helping members handle materials safely, confidently and more efficiently on site.

“By improving handling techniques and raising awareness of best practice, the training aims to reduce the risk of injury while supporting safer, more productive workplaces across the industry.”

The course forms part of FIS’s wider commitment to improving competence across the finishes and interiors sector and supporting members in meeting their obligations under the industry’s evolving competence and safety agenda.

Michael Lordan, Director of M.L.A and Construction People Solutions and developer of the course said:

“I embarked on this project because much of the manual handling e-Learning available today is generic and not tailored to the realities of construction, despite being widely used to demonstrate workforce training.

“Having seen firsthand the impact that poor manual handling practices can have on workers’ health, wellbeing and long-term careers, I felt it was important to start with this subject.

“The drywall trades are among the hardest working trades in the industry and are often exposed to significant manual handling risks, yet many have little understanding of the cumulative impact these activities can have on their bodies over time.

My hope is that this course will help raise awareness, encourage safer working practices, and ultimately contribute to reducing manual handling injuries across the sector.”

Delivered through the FIS Academy, the online course offers flexible learning that can be completed at any time, making it suitable for operatives, supervisors, site managers and business leaders seeking to strengthen their approach to manual handling safety.

By equipping individuals with the knowledge to identify risks, challenge unsafe practices and implement safer methods of work,

FIS hopes the course will contribute to a reduction in preventable injuries and help foster a stronger safety culture across the drylining sector.

The course is available now through the FIS Academy.

Course costs:

£45 + VAT for members 

£60 + VAT for non members 

**CITB registered employers may be eligible to reclaim 50% of the full course cost. (Please contact your CITB Advisor ahead of booking this course to secure funding (they should also book the course(s) for you)

(*Non-fatal injuries at work in Great Britain – HSE)

See more news likes this

FIS has submitted its response to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) Call for Evidence on the Strategy for Built Environment Professions, Trades and Occupations.

In our response, which you can view here, FIS asserted that competence is not only a matter of individual skill or organisational capability, it is a condition created or undermined by how projects are procured, contracted, programmed and governed. Procurement is the control point at which our sector’s four core risks – design, time, cost and cash – are either managed or passed downstream to those least able to control them. The Construction Quality Improvement Collaborative reaches the same conclusion independently, ranking lowest-price procurement and procurement routes as the top two barriers to improving specialist design.

Our priorities, with the questions where each is argued:

• Procurement is the lever. Route, appointment timing, scope and risk allocation decide whether competence can be exercised at all. Put the procurement record, contract and a live Design Responsibility Matrix in the Golden Thread, and use the Procurement Act 2023 to enforce uptake of the Construction Playbook (Q6, Q12, Q16, Q23).
• Fix the design development process. Stages should be evidence-based decision points, not vague milestones, with detail classified as confirmed, nominal or unresolved. 51% of CQIC respondents disagree that design responsibilities are clearly defined (Q23, Q31, Q33).
• Post-award price reduction strips investment out of projects. Around two-thirds of specialists are asked to cut price after appointment. Those cuts come out of supervision, out of value engineering the system, or out of the labour rate — rarely out of margin (Q33, Q38).
• Treat payment as a competence measure. Specialists extend 60–78 days of credit to larger clients; retentions are never released on time for 65% working with national housebuilders. Firms that cannot forecast cash cannot invest in supervision, training or evidence (Q38).
• Training is an absorption problem.  Short-notice pipeline, aggressive procurement and poor payment practices remove the return on investment required and force companies to use more contingent labour (Q76).

The full FIS response, which is available here, provides the detailed evidence, recommendations and supporting data behind these positions.

Skills Minister thanks construction industry for its role in shaping apprenticeship reform

The construction industry’s voice is being heard as government moves forward with reforms to apprenticeship assessment, with the Skills Minister recognising the sector’s contribution to shaping how the changes will work in practice.

In a letter to members of the Construction Coalition and Skills England’s Construction Taskforce, the Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Malvern thanked industry representatives for their “invaluable and constructive contributions” to the implementation of Apprenticeship Assessment Reform across the Construction & Built Environment sector.

The Minister highlighted the important role industry has played in identifying the challenges created by significant changes to apprenticeship assessment, advocating for action and, crucially, co-developing solutions with Skills England.

She said this collaboration has helped ensure that the requirements of industry are secured alongside the benefits of reform, with a shared focus on streamlining unnecessary complexity while maintaining confidence among employers and learners in training and assessment for safety-critical occupations.

The letter is a clear recognition that successful reform cannot be designed by government alone. The expertise and experience of employers and industry bodies have been central to testing proposals and identifying practical solutions that work for the construction sector.

Beena Nana, FIS Head of Skills and Training welcomed the progress:

“It is encouraging to see industry being genuinely listened to and involved in shaping this important work. We have worked closely with our members and Skills England to ensure the approach is practical and reflects the needs of employers, while maintaining the high standards and competence expected across our sector.”

The Minister also noted that the contributions from the Construction Coalition and Construction Taskforce have helped ensure reforms support the continued competence of the workforce and maintain employers’ confidence that apprenticeships produce people able to work safely, effectively and to the high professional standards expected across the sector.

With the current round of test cases now almost complete, the lessons learned will help inform assessment plans across other apprenticeships.

Baroness Smith concluded by stressing that successful apprenticeships depend on strong collaboration between industry, training providers, assessment organisations and government.

For the construction sector, the message is encouraging: industry has been listened to, its concerns have helped shape the approach, and its expertise is influencing the next stage of apprenticeship reform.

The work now is to build on that collaboration and ensure the final reforms deliver for employers, apprentices and the wider economy.

Following recent announcements, FIS welcomes the Prime Minister’s recognition that there should be no hierarchy between academic and technical education, and that young people should have the freedom to choose the route that best suits their ambitions and strengths. For construction, apprenticeships and skilled trades offer a valuable pathway into rewarding careers, combining practical experience, recognised qualifications and the opportunity to build a long term career in a vital industry.

The Government is backing that ambition by investing in more opportunities for young people closer to home. By expanding access to colleges, apprenticeships, technical training and high-quality work experience, we can help young people develop the skills employers need while creating stronger local economies. This means making sure young people have access to the opportunities they need without having to move away from their families and communities.

Stronger links between education providers and local businesses will also help create a clearer pathway from education into good, skilled jobs. By bringing employers closer to schools, colleges and training providers, young people can gain practical experience, understand the opportunities available to them and develop the skills needed to build successful careers. At the same time, local businesses benefit from a stronger pipeline of home-grown talent.

For too long, where someone lives or the type of education they choose has shaped the opportunities available to them. This approach is about changing, giving young people more choice, more practical opportunities and a stronger start in their working lives. Success does not look the same for everyone, but every young person should have the chance to build a fulfilling career and a secure future, whether their journey begins in a lecture theatre, a college workshop or on the job.

For more information on career routes into the sector contact FIS Head of Skills and Training Beena Nana or FIS Skills and Training Advisor Marie Flinter.

See more news likes this