Andy Burnham labels cowboy builders as “thugs” who “destroy lives” and promises to put them out of business.
To write the Daily Post the Prime Minister tells how a woman was driven to attempt suicide by an unscrupulous trafficker who left her home unsafe to live in.
Citing figures showing that homeowners have lost £14.3bn to cowboy builders in five years, he adds: ‘They prey on the vulnerable, they rob our neighbors of their future and, above all, they destroy lives.
‘They are criminals, and it is time we treat them as such. So today we put the cowboys out of business.”
Mr Burnham, who visited Welsh workers and political leaders ahead of the return of Parliament next week, announced the Government’s support for two new plans.
The first, which goes live next week, is a smartphone app called Trusted Payments, which keeps homeowners’ money safe during projects, with payments only released to builders once key stages of work are completed.
As many as 100,000 traders across Britain will have access to it by the end of September, according to the Department for Business and Trade.
It was developed by a private company in collaboration with TrustMark, a government-approved quality program.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has branded cowboy builders as “thugs” who “destroy lives” and vowed to put them out of business
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The second element, the Approved Codes Scheme for the home improvement sector, was developed by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute and the Furniture and Home Improvement Ombudsman.
Companies that apply must demonstrate that they meet higher customer service standards.
It will launch at the end of September and will be fully live in December.
The government supports both schemes, but has not funded them.
