Main News Feed Archives - Page 10 of 221

Have Your Say: Research into Supply Chain Practices in Low and Mid-Rise Housing

by Oscar Venus | 21 Oct, 2025 | Main News Feed

If your business operates in the low and mid-rise housing sector, this is an important opportunity to make your voice heard.

In response to concerns raised by members, the Finishes and Interiors Sector (FIS) has commissioned the University of Reading and Barbour ABI to carry out research into how current supply chain management practices are affecting investment, productivity, and mental health across the sector.

The study will explore how procurement, contracting, and delivery methods impact productivity and skills development within the supply chain – vital insights to inform government as it works towards delivering 1.5 million new homes.

As part of this work, we are asking businesses to complete a short anonymous survey covering:

Contracts
Supply chain management
Risk management
Negotiation behaviours
Price fluctuations within national deal agreements
Payment and retention practices

The survey is open until 5pm, Monday 3 November 2025.

Take the questionnaire

Please complete the survey yourself or share it with the most relevant person in your organisation. We also encourage you to pass it on to other specialist contractors – the more responses we gather, the stronger and more valuable the research will be.

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Driving change in construction

by Clair Mooney | 17 Oct, 2025 | Main News Feed

Thanks to all who supported the FIS Conference yesterday in London. It was a really interesting day with insights from leaders and professionals across the fit-out, finishes, and interiors supply chain. It was a great opportunity to look (collectively as a supply chain) at some of the key opportunities and challenges that we face and how collaboration really is key for driving change for the better.

At our AGM that followed, FIS President Ian Strangward, Managing Director of contractor member Architectural Wallsz, announced the results of the 2025 Board Elections.

Joining the Board from 16 October as executive directors are: Jim Brennan of Nova Plasterboard Systems and Richard Grimes of Grimes Finishings, both contractor members of FIS, and Liz McDermott of QuickFix Profiles a supplier member of FIS.

We want to thank all those that took the time to stand for election, your support of FIS is hugely appreciated. We have a strong team and Board of directors who will ensure that FIS continues to be member led and is making a difference for individual members and the sector as a whole.

The day culminated in a drinks reception, generously supported by Nevill Long, to celebrate 10 years of FIS. Thanks to everyone who joined us.

Thanks to our event sponsors, Gypsum Products Association, Nevill Long and SpecFinish Magazine.

The official minutes of the AGM are available to FIS members to download here.

Menopause Awareness

by Oscar Venus | 16 Oct, 2025 | Main News Feed

It’s World Menopause Day this Saturday 18 October which aims to raise awareness of the menopause and the support available for women going through it. Employees of menopausal age are the fastest growing workplace demographic in the UK, and Build UK’s template Menopause Policy, produced by Citation, can be used by members to help provide an inclusive and supportive working environment for employees experiencing menopausal symptoms and their colleagues.

Members can get involved this #WorldMenopauseDay by reviewing their policy and the support they provide, as well as sharing information on social media.

FIS Supports the Opening of The Skills Centre Essex

by Oscar Venus | 16 Oct, 2025 | Main News Feed

FIS was proud to attend the official opening of The Skills Centre Essex in Horndon Industrial Estate, Brentwood, on Friday 10 October, a significant milestone in strengthening skills development across the construction sector.

The new Essex facility marks the 10th Skills Centre in the UK and will deliver high-quality, employer-led construction training, including Level 1 pre-employment programmes designed to equip local people with the practical skills needed to start a career in the industry.

Representing FIS at the opening, Chief Executive Iain McIlwee joined Measom Dryline and Councillor Louise McKinlay to celebrate the launch and show support for initiatives that help attract new entrants and raise competence across the finishes and interiors sector.

FIS continues to work closely with training providers and employers to ensure that skills programmes reflect the real needs of the sector and help build a sustainable pipeline of talent for the future.

Industry Competence Committee Publishes Guidance on Competence Management – Consultation Now Open

by Oscar Venus | 10 Oct, 2025 | Main News Feed

The Industry Competence Committee (ICC) has published new draft guidance, Setting Expectations on Competence Management, now open for consultation via the HSE Citizen Space from 25 September to 6 November 2025.

This guidance outlines the ICC’s expectations for how organisations should manage and demonstrate competence within their workforce, setting out clear principles and common elements to support consistent best practice across the built environment.

The document builds on feedback from earlier consultations and aims to help organisations develop practical and effective competence management systems. Following this consultation, the ICC plans to publish further case studies and examples to support industry implementation.

Beena Nana, Head of Skills at FIS, commented:

“Finally we are starting to see more explicit guidance coming out from the Regulator that will support firms in implementing competency requirements and ensuring that they can demonstrate Organisational Capability. FIS has had input into the process so far, but we encourage members to have a read through and let us know if there are any concerns or confusion. This is important guidance — it will be how we are judged moving forwards if things go wrong.”

FIS is encouraging all members to review the draft and share their feedback.

Access the document and consultation here

FIS response to late payment and retentions consultation

by Clair Mooney | 10 Oct, 2025 | Main News Feed

In response to the Government’s consultation on tackling late payment and retentions in the construction sector, FIS has prepared its formal response on the package of proposed legislative measures to address late, long and disputed business to business payments.

Members can access a copy of the formal response here. If you have any feedback, please email iainmcilwee@thefis.org by 20 October 2025 to ensure your views are represented before the consultation closes on 23 October 2025.

Listen to our webinar discussing the Governments proposals to overhaul late payment

Hear directly from representatives of the Department of Business and Trade on the proposed measures, how they will be introduced and raise any questions as part of their information gathering ahead of the consultation closing on the 23^rd October.

Find out more

Background

This consultation recognises that late payment impacts 1.5 billion businesses and ultimately costs the UK economy almost £11 billion per year and closes down 38 UK businesses every day. The proposed package of measures are claimed to be the most significant attempt to address late, long and disputed business to business (B2B) payments in over 25 years.

The consultation proposes the following package of legislative measures:

Policy	Description
1. Audit committees and board-level scrutiny of large company payment practices	In September 2024, the government reaffirmed commitments to legislate on audit committees and other board level responsibilities to improve payment practices. The government believes further positive change could be achieved by increasing discussion and scrutiny of large companies’ payment practices at board level.We would welcome views on how government could best achieve this in the future with proportionate regulatory burden. For example: A. Ensuring audit committees or company boards, where companies have them, provide commentary and make recommendations regarding payment performance to company directors before the data is submitted to government and included in the director’s report. This would include data provided as part of the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017, and any interest on late payment liabilities. B. Ensuring the Small Business Commissioner writes to audit committees and company boards, where companies have them, when i) undertaking payment performance reporting assurance and ii) when investigating any other matter relating to a companies’ payment practices. We would welcome views on these ideas, including the likely positive effects, costs, or any unintended negative consequences. We would also welcome other additional ideas to encourage greater discussion of payment practices at board level.
2. Maximum payment terms	The policy will amend The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, removing the exemption that allows businesses to agree to payment terms longer than 60 days if considered not ‘grossly unfair’. This will effectively limit payment terms between UK businesses to 60 days. Subject to further consultation, this policy may subsequently reduce this limit from 60 days to 45 days after 5 years.
3. A deadline for disputing invoices	The policy will amend The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, introducing a 30-day invoice verification period. Businesses who wish to raise a dispute will need to do so within 30 days of receiving an invoice, otherwise they will be liable to pay the invoice in full within the agreed payment terms, alongside any statutory interest or debt recovery costs if the invoice is paid late.
4. Mandatory statutory interest	The policy will amend The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, making the statutory interest rate payable on late payments mandatory. This will remove the ability to negotiate compensation rates lower than the statutory rate. This will increase existing financial incentives to pay invoices on time.
5. Additional reporting on statutory interest	The policy will amend The Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017 to include additional reporting requirements around statutory interest liabilities. This will further increase transparency around poor B2B payment behaviour and informs other policies that aim to improve the utilisation and payment of statutory interest.
6. Financial penalties for persistent late payers	The policy will introduce new legislation, which gives the SBC powers to issue financial to businesses who persistently pay their suppliers late. The policy will use payment behaviour data submitted by businesses under The Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations (2017) to identify and issue financial penalties to persistently late-paying businesses, with penalties based on businesses’ unpaid statutory interest liability.
7. Additional powers for the SBC, including assurance of payment reporting data	The policy will amend The Enterprise Act 2016 to give additional powers to the SBC. The additional powers would improve the SBC’s ability to conduct investigations into poor B2B payment behaviour (beyond its current complaints scheme), allow it to provide legally binding arbitration in disputes, and impose financial penalties or make arbitration awards after an investigation or arbitration process.The policy will also enable the SBC to investigate the accuracy of the payment reporting data that large businesses provide under The Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017. This will improve the quality of reporting data and support the reporting regulations original objectives of improving transparency around B2B payment behaviour.
8. Use of retention clauses in construction contracts	The policy will amend Part 2 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act (1996), to either prohibit the use of retentions or to introduce requirements to protect retention funds deducted and withheld from insolvency and late or non-payment.