Episode 30 - Retentions: Retain or remove? With Rob Driscoll, Melanie Leech and Chris Hallam

In this episode we look at retentions. In late March, the government announced it was proposing to ban the use of retentions in construction contracts. The proposed ban is part of a wider package of measures aimed at tackling late payments across the UK economy as a whole, which the government says forces 38 small business to the wall every day. In construction, banning retentions might protect smaller firms from losing money when contractors further up the supply chain won’t pay or become insolvent. But for some, retentions are a vital tool that incentivise contractors to meet their obligations, especially when it comes to the quality of a build and correcting any defects. CN’s features editor, Matt Davies, is joined by Rob Driscoll, director of legal and business at the Electrical Contractors' Association, Melanie Leech, the chief executive at the British Property Federation and Chris Hallam, a partner at the law firm CMS.