CIC to support Government Review of Construction

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) welcomes today’s announcement from Lord Mandelson, the First Secretary of State, that Government will undertake a strategic review of construction, and has offered its wholehearted support to the initiative.

To undertake this review, an Innovation Growth Team (IGT), will be established consisting of individuals from across the business spectrum and not just from construction. Once in post, the Chief Construction Adviser (CCA) will lead the review but until such time as the CCA is in place, Lord Mandelson has invited Keith Clarke, chief executive of Atkins and chairman of the CIC to chair the review.
In recent years IGTs have been undertaken in several sectors- aerospace, automotive, biotechnology and chemicals.
The draft terms of reference for this work include the following:

• To assess the impact of the New Industry, New Jobs agenda on the performance of the UK construction industry.
• To assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the UK construction industry.
• To identify the barriers to improved performance by the UK construction industry, and to make recommendations.
• To consider how the UK construction industry can take forward the low carbon agenda and to make recommendations to make the UK a world leader in low carbon construction and the built environment.

Keith Clarke said, “This is both a timely and vital initiative for the entirety of the UK construction industry and its complex interface with both Government as a policy maker and a major client. We are at a crucial point in the beginning of the journey to a low carbon economy and the engineering, design and construction professions have a vital part to play working with Government to effect radical changes in providing a built environment that provides the quality of life the UK requires.”

Graham Watts, CEO of CIC said, “We have been working towards these outcomes for years rather than months and these are opportunities to be seized by the industry. A Low Carbon world is vital to human survival and it is construction professionals who, perhaps more than any other sector, can make a difference by concerted, collaborative action NOW. Now, we have only months to make these opportunities tell.”