Local authorities across England and Wales were urged this week to use only Quality Mark accredited traders to work on their housing stock.

The call comes from a senior Department of Trade and Industry official in an address at an awards ceremony sponsored by the Quality Mark Scheme - the only government-backed national register of approved builders working in the home improvement market.

Botched home improvement work wastes £1.5 billion annually, loses £4 billion work annually for the construction industry and resulted in over 106,000 complaints about cowboy builders being registered with Trading Standards officers in 2002. This is widely thought to be just the tip of the iceberg, with official complaints growing at around 5% a year.

Due to the scale of the complaints and resulting publicity about cowboy builders, including TV programmes like Rogue Traders and Builders From Hell, many people are putting off having work done because they do not know who to trust.

David Hendon, head of business relations at the DTI, said:

"Encouragingly, councils are now starting to look for Quality Mark accredited standards for their housing stock work.”

"That kind of trend is to be applauded and encouraged, as it can do so much to help our aim to highlight the good contractors out there, improve or squeeze out the rogue traders and protect consumers.”

"And Quality Mark carries another important benefit for local authorities: its warranty against insolvency, poor workmanship and major defects allows those who recommend the scheme's builders to minimise potential consequential liability to consumers.”

Hendon urged the use of QM tradesmen for all council work, saying, “The ideal situation for us would be if all councils told building firms - 'If you want to work for us on our housing stock, you've got to demonstrate the Quality Mark equivalent standard.”

The government developed Quality Mark in partnership with representatives of the construction industry, consumer groups, local authorities and others. Its dual purpose is to bring peace of mind and protection to consumers as well as promoting rather than penalising legitimate workers in the 20 home improvement trades.

Quality Mark tradesmen are assessed for workmanship skills, proper insurance cover, management practices and financial probity by independent certification bodies, licensed by the DTI, including a simple site-based audit. Quality Mark tradesmen follow a code of practice governing relations with their customers.

The QM system is backed by an effective and independent complaints system to address any complaint about the quality of workmanship, or the conduct of a firm. Its audit trail can also help QM firms pursue bad debts.

The complaints system is linked to a Scheme warranty, which the QM tradesman provides to every consumer, as part of the quotation, before starting the job. This provides financial protection for up to six years against insolvency, poor workmanship or major defects.

People looking for a QM tradesman and also tradesmen wishing to join the scheme may do so free-of-charge by phoning the low cost call centre number 0845 300 80 40 or via the internet at www.qualitymark.org.uk.