Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [Lords]

I am not a fluent Welsh speaker, but I do my best. I think the new clause is important for this reason. Of course we do not want to see undue bureaucracy and paperwork in the contractual relationship between smaller contractors and larger developers, but the situation is pretty critical in respect of how the economic downturn and recession have hit small and medium-sized enterprises. In those circumstances, it is well worth looking at any legislative measures to assist small building firms and contractors to stay in business and to have the peace of mind and security to safeguard their financial viability. I note that the Government did not dismiss the matter out of hand in Committee. It is well for us to look at the facts. Barclays bank believes that small and medium-sized enterprises have lost more than £1.16 billion in the past year because of non-payment. Over the past year, there has been a more than 50 per cent. increase in insolvencies in the industry—more than double the same figures for the manufacturing sector—and according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, nine construction industry firms a day are going into insolvency.