Small Business Minister Lord Leong has taken the Commercial Payments Bill through its final House of Lords stage, sending the legislation to the Commons for further scrutiny.
The bill was read a third time and passed on 20 October without further amendments. It is intended to strengthen the law governing late commercial payments across the United Kingdom.
Its principal measures include banning retention clauses in the construction sector and expanding the Small Business Commissioner's powers to resolve payment disputes and address poor payment practices.
Leong told peers that the government had been working with the devolved administrations and was seeking legislative consent from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Provisions touching devolved matters would be subject to consent mechanisms.
The bill has cleared the Lords, but it is not yet law. MPs can scrutinise and amend it in the Commons before any final agreement between the two Houses and Royal Assent.
The next stage will test whether the government can preserve its proposed protections while resolving outstanding devolution and implementation questions.
