§ Mr. PondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what provision he intends to make to improve protection of householders against incompetent and dishonest builders; and if he will make a statement. [116166]
§ Ms Beverley HughesI am pleased to announce that this week the first pilot of the quality mark scheme—in Birmingham—is being opened to builders who want to join. A list of approved builders will be available to consumers in the city later in the summer. The pilots in Birmingham and, later, Somerset are a key stage in testing and developing the scheme. Once we have extracted the lessons from them we will review the quality mark and then roll it out across the country.