CIC Cascade

8 August 2006

1. CIC Chairman offers to help Ruth Kelly achieve the best possible implementation of the Home Information Packs
2. Construction Umbrella Bodies (CUB) to hold Conservative & Labour party conference fringe meeting
3. Stuart Henderson appointed as Director of CSCS Board
4. ConstructionSkills uses online gaming to turn young people on to industry
5. 2nd Built Environment Education Conference (BEECON 2006)
6. CIOB Signs up to Anti-Corruption Forum
7. CIBSE appoints new Chief Executive Officer
8. Events

1. CIC Chairman offers to help Ruth Kelly achieve the best possible implementation of the Home Information Packs

Members of the CIC Working Group on Home Condition Reports met the CIC Chairman, the Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP and Chief Executive (Graham Watts) to discuss next steps following the recent Government decision to scrap the mandatory introduction of Housing Condition Reports as a requirement within Home Information Packs.

The conclusions of the meeting were:

• There was significant scepticism as to whether Home Condition Reports will be produced on a voluntary basis.
• Without an accreditation scheme, there is no prospect of Home Condition Reports being offered as they will have no credibility with purchasers – so the work underway to establish accreditation bodies must continue.
• In line with the commitments that Yvette Cooper gave last week, CIC believes it is essential that robust monitoring arrangements are put in place to allow an early assessment of the extent to which voluntary HCRs are being taken up, alongside the delivery of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs).
• Existing professional bodies are capable of generating sufficient trained staff, with an appropriate “bolt-on” qualification, to produce the EPCs without the need for a heavy-handed certification scheme. Indeed there is a risk that any such scheme could be counter-productive and jeopardise the implementation of EPCs from 1st June 2007.
• The uncertainty in the market following last week’s statement has raised concerns about the availability of adequate indemnity insurance cover for the staff producing both voluntary HCRs and mandatory EPCs. This needs to be addressed urgently.

CIC has requested a meeting with the Secretary of State and/or senior officials from the Department for Communities and Local Government in order to help the government achieve the best possible implementation of the HIP Scheme.

Read the CIC Press Release which includes extracts from Nick Raynsfords contribution to the Parliamentary Debate

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2. Construction Umbrella Bodies (CUB) to hold Conservative & Labour party conference fringe meeting

The Construction Industry Council will be participating in a fringe meeting “Meeting the Climate Change Challenge: Delivering Sustainable Construction” at this year's Conservative and Labour Party Conference held in Bournemouth and Manchester respectively.

Focusing on Climate Change the events, hosted by CUB (Construction Industry Council, Construction Confederation, Construction Products Association), will take place on:

Conservative:

Monday 02 October at the Shaftesbury Suite, the Highcliff Marriott Hotel, Bournemouth from 5.45 – 7.00pm.

Chaired by Michael Ankers, Chief Executive of the Construction Products Association, Shadow DTI Minister Mark Prisk MP and Shadow Minister for the Environment Greg Barker MP have been invited to speak. There will also be a panel including representatives from other stakeholder organisations.

Security passes can be obtained by emailing your request for an application form to marketing@ccocl.co.uk. The Conservative Party Conference runs from 1- 4 October at the Bournemouth International Conference Bureau, Bournemouth.

Labour:

Wednesday 27 September 2006 at Manchester ’s Midland Hotel. From, 5.30 – 7.00pm

Chaired by Nick Raysford MP, Communities Minister Angela E Smith MP and Dr Alan Whitehead MP have been invited to speak. There will also be a panel including representatives from other stakeholder organisations.

Security passes can be obtained on application from the Labour Party, telephone 08700 435 533 or e-mail http://www.labour.org.uk/conference2006 The Labour Party Conference runs from 24- 28 September at the GMex and Manchester International Conference Centre.

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3. Stuart Henderson appointed as Director of CSCS Board

CIC Deputy Chairman Stuart Henderson has been appointed as a Director of the CSCS board.

Four new appointments were made in total, in an effort to strengthen the role of the Board of CSCS Ltd :

• Trevor Walker, has been appointed as Chairman and is sponsored by the Construction Confederation;
• Alan Ritchie becomes Deputy Chairman and is sponsored by UCATT;
• Stuart Henderson (representing the Construction Industry Council) and Gren Tipper from BAA (representing construction clients) have also been appointed as directors.

Commenting on these changes, Brian Adams, Chief Executive of CSCS Ltd said:

“We now have a board that is wholly representative of all industry stakeholders and is determined to ensure the CSCS scheme continues to grow from strength to strength. Together with the new commercial contract with CITB-ConstructionSkills we now have a very firm base from which we can grow the scheme to encompass everybody working in construction.”

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4. ConstructionSkills uses online gaming to turn young people on to industry

ConstructionSkills has gone interactive in order to encourage young people to consider a career in construction. A number of online games have been created and are running on popular teen websites in the latest initiative from the ConstructionSkills Positive Image recruitment campaign. The campaign began in April 2006 and has already resulted in:

• A 50% increase in hits to ConstructionSkills’ recruitment website
• 1,218 new user registrations on the website in April alone
• The ‘Careers - what’s on’ section of the site becoming the most popular page on the website

The games have been designed to showcase the range of skills involved in construction careers, from bricklaying, plastering and project management to quick thinking, analytical skills, logic and good hand-eye coordination. Playing the game will then lead young people to visit the ConstructionSkills website, www.bconstructive.co.uk where they can find out more about a career in the industry.

The games are up and running on teen chat community site Dubit, gaming site Freeloader and Weebls-stuff. The first game to go live on Weebls-stuff has already proved to be a big hit: in its first two weeks online it generated nearly 85,000 game plays and 6,600 click-throughs to the www.bconstructive.co.uk

The Dubit game allows users to construct a unique chat room to their own specification, using design and project management skills, as would be required on a construction project. Teenagers can try their hand at creating everything from stately manors to landscaped gardens and mysterious landscapes with the construction toolkit, and even invite other online chatters to admire their handiwork.

Gamers can also make their mark on the online environment with Freeloader's Bloc Smart, where players must gather different materials on a construction site then use their judgement to create a building in the right order. Bloc Smart illustrates the range of jobs in a construction team - forget the scaffolding, miss out your foundations or bring your architect onboard at the wrong stage and it's back to square one.

Becky Jefcoate, ConstructionSkills’ Marketing Manager said: “The online games are a great way of keeping our target audience engaged with the Positive Image campaign, which aims to debunk various myths about the construction industry. Online media provides an opportunity to interact with young people in a more compelling environment. We are always looking for new ways to reach what is becoming a more difficult audience with which to communicate and are confident that this campaign will be successful.”

The games can be accessed at http://www.weebls-stuff.com/games/bconstructive, http://www.dubit.co.uk and www.freeloader.com. Screen grabs are available on request.

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5. 2nd Built Environment Education Conference (BEECON 2006)

Taking place from Sept 12 – 13, at The Bonnington Hotel, Bloomsbury, London, t he main theme of this international conference is to promote the advancement of the built environment and to strengthen the education process through its interaction with industry and practice. It is dedicated towards enhancing the quality of university education across all of the built environment disciplines. It will serve as forum for the sharing of good practice and will offer delegates the opportunity to critically and creatively engage with new ideas and research. These will assist them in developing their own approach to learning, teaching and assessment.

Organised by the Construction Industry Council (CIC), as a partner in ConstructionSkills, and The Centre for Education in the Built Environment (CEBE). This will be an opportunity for those with an interest in higher education in the broad discipline of the built environment to explore the benefits and added value of industry-university collaboration.

Speakers:

Mr Nick Raynsford: MP and Chairman of the Construction Industry Council

Professor Roger Flanagan : President elect of CIOB, and professor of Construction Management, University of Reading

Professor Mel Lees: Professor of Quantity Surveying and Education, University of Salford and Deputy Director of Centre in the Built Environment

Professor Sarah Sayce: Head of the School of Surveying at Kingston University and Chair of the Council of Heads of Built Environment

Mr Simon Bartley: Chairman of SummitSkills

Ms Sheila Hoile MBE: Director of Skills Strategy, CITB-ConstructionSkills

To register for a place please complete the online registration form or contact Pam Lowe via email p.lowe@salford.ac.uk or telephone 0161 295 5944

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6. CIOB Signs up to Anti-Corruption Forum 

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has signed up to constructions Anti-Corruption Forum.

The Anti-Corruption Forum, led by Transparency International, is an alliance of UK professional institutions, business associations and companies with interests in the domestic and international infrastructure, construction and engineering sectors. The purpose of the Forum is to promote industry-led actions which can help eliminate corruption.

According to Transparency International the construction industry ranks as the most corrupt industry worldwide on a league table that includes defence and pharmaceutical industries. It is estimated that in the Great British construction industry alone corruption could cost anywhere up to £3 billion a year.

In a recent online poll run by the CIOB, 335 construction professionals were asked on what scale corruption exists in the UK construction industry; 41% (139) thought it was ‘widespread’, 37% (123) believed it was ‘occasional’, 18% (61) voted that it was ‘rare’ while 4% (12) of respondents felt it was non-existent.

Chris Blythe CIOB chief executive said, “We recognise that the construction industry is a particularly susceptible environment for corruption in both the developing and developed world, as construction projects usually involve a large number of participants in a complex contractual and financial structure.

“Bribery in relation to the award of contracts is the most visible form of corruption notably when contracts are for major works. However corrupt practices can be found at each phase of a construction project; during planning and design, in the award of contracts, during the construction process, and during the operation and maintenance of projects after construction is finished.

“Following on from our online poll we will be undertaking later this year some new research into corruption in UK construction, this will look at the costs and causes associated in our industry.”

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7. CIBSE appoints new Chief Executive Officer

The CIBSE Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Stephen Matthews BSc(Eng) C Eng FIMechE as the successor to Julian Amey as Chief Executive Officer from 17 July 2006.

Stephen is a chartered mechanical engineer and after graduating from Cranfield University enjoyed a distinguished Army career culminating in the rank of Brigadier. Much of his service was devoted to the strategic leadership and delivery of technical training as well as the development and achievement of qualifications from initial up to degree level.

Stephen has subsequently transferred his knowledge and skills to the commercial world as Director of Customer Training at Raytheon Systems and Managing Director of a security company. He brings to the Institution a combination of academic and business skills and a reputation for being both dynamic and a skilled strategist. He has a declared interest in the sustainable environment and is looking forward to directing his energy into the further development of the Institution.

Announcing Stephen’s appointment CIBSE President David Hughes said ‘Stephen’s strategic and leadership skills combined with his engineering background will be an asset to CIBSE in what is a vital time in the Institution’s development and growth. The board are delighted that Stephen accepted the position and we look forward to working with him to achieve CIBSE’s aims and objectives.’

Speaking about his new appointment Stephen said ‘I am delighted to have this opportunity to work with CIBSE at what is obviously an important time for the Institution and the wider building services industry and I look forward to contributing to the many challenges which CIBSE faces at the moment.’

8. Events

The events page of the CIC website is frequently updated visit the events page for details.

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