Prime Minister Andy Burnham has condemned rogue builders as “crooks” who exploit vulnerable homeowners and can cause severe personal and financial harm. He announced Government-backed measures intended to make home-improvement work safer and reduce losses from unfinished, poor-quality or fraudulent projects.

A new Trusted Partners app, due next week, will hold customers’ payments until agreed project milestones are completed and is expected to be available to up to 100,000 traders by the end of September. A separate Approved Codes Scheme will require participating firms to meet higher customer-service standards; it launches in late September and is due to be fully operational by December. The Government says homeowners lost £14.3 billion to cowboy builders over five years, although it is endorsing rather than funding the two schemes.