The government is to finally push through amendments to the Construction Act during the next parliamentary session, Gordon Brown has announced.

Widespread reforms to the act will be made next year to improve payment practices within the construction sector, and tighten up the adjudication procedure.

The measures announced in the Community Empowerment, Housing and Economic Regeneration Bill will “improve the operation of construction contracts”, including “improving cash flow through construction supply chains and, where appropriate, encouraging parties to resolve disputes by adjudication rather than by litigation”.

The news, announced in the draft Queen’s Speech, will come as a huge relief to construction bodies and lobby groups after it was left out of the Queen’s Speech last year.

Rudi Klein, chair of the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group, said he was “delighted” by the news.

He said: “Since 2001, we’ve campaigned to plug the holes in this act, and that lobbying has finally paid off.”

Klein added that he and other industry lobbyists would look closely at the “fine print” to ensure that amendments would be of benefit.

The draft Queen’s Speech is a parliamentary announcement to set out the following year’s legislative programme.