Housebuilders are criticised over their decision to cut payments to sub-contractors

The Construction Confederation has become the latest body to condemn housebuilder鈥檚 decision to cut payments to sub-contractors.

The confederation received complaints from members of the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) after the National Specialist Contractors Council (NSCC) condemned the move.

Stephen Ratcliffe, chief executive of the Construction Confederation, said: 鈥淚t is regrettable that some major housebuilders have chosen to take this action.

鈥淲hile it is understandable they may want to seek economies and cut future costs through efficiency savings, it is clearly unfair to try to impose reductions retrospectively on existing agreements.

鈥淭his is not the way to build long-term partnerships and flies in the face of what the industry has been working so hard to achieve in recent years.鈥�