The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and CITB won a Judicial Review hearing this week.

The Judicial Review was taken against BIS, with CITB named as an interested party, by payroll company Hudsons Contract Services Ltd.

It looked at aspects of the CITB levy and a simplification of the scheme carried-out in 2015.

The case was heard last month at the Royal Courts of Justice, London and the judgment was given yesterday.

The ruling upholds the current CITB levy order and the levy simplification process.

The judge dismissed all of the claims by Hudsons, and ordered the company pay CITB’s legal costs.

But Hudson bosses are determined to carry on their campaign for change to the “destructive” system.

A Hudson statement said: “The CITB and the levy system need urgent reform.

“These proceedings have shown just how wide-ranging and unaccountable the CITB’s powers are.

“The levy is intended to fund training, yet the CITB admits that there is no requirement that they actually spend a single penny on training.

“If they choose, they can use all the money to cover their board’s expenses.

“SMEs who are vital to our economic growth are getting short-changed, and the country is failing to train as many young workers as it could.

“This is quangoism at its most pernicious and destructive.”

Steve Radley, Director of Policy at CITB, said: “This outcome is good news for the construction industry.

“It confirms that the 2015 CITB Levy Order and levy simplification are legal.

“We worked with industry for two years to make the levy simpler and fairer, and deliver more for construction firms. We are pleased that the benefits of these changes will be felt right across our industry, as planned.

“We can now deliver on our commitment to return a greater share of levy funding to employers and make it work better for them.”