And there will be no new chief construction adviser appointed after the incumbent Peter Hansford’s tenure ends in November 2015.
The Construction Leadership Council was created in 2013 as a bridge between industry and government to improve efficiency, skills and growth in UK construction. It was set up at about the same time that the former coalition government was on a drive to cut quangos and bureaucracy. It was initially co-chaired, on the government side, by the then secretary of state for business Vince Cable. The government now puts up the lower ranked skills minister Nick Boles as its co-chair. Sir David Higgins, formerly of Network Rail and now at HS2, remains the industry side co-chair.
Apart from David Higgins, the only former council members whose reappointment has been confirmed so far are Mike Putnam of (Swedish-owned) Skanska, Andrew Wolstenholme of Crossrail and Anna Stewart of (Irish-owned, Cyprus registered) Laing O’Rourke. They will be joined by new member Madani Sow of (French-owned) Bouygues, along with the chair of UKTI’s construction advisory group, someone from one of the big volume housebuilder (Barratt’s Mark Clare was on it before but he’s now retired), and someone from a small/medium business down the supply chain.
There is no place for representatives of property developers, trade associations, trade unions or training organisations – just ‘proper’ construction businesses, albeit not British-owned ones.
Co-chair David Higgins (an Australian) said: “I’m delighted the government has responded to calls for a smaller, more business-focused Construction Leadership Council. The new council of 12, with its business leaders from across the sector, will be best placed to drive the skills, innovation and productivity outcomes to help the industry build on its recent growth.”
Madani Sow, chairman & CEO of Bouygues UK, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for Bouygues UK and the industry. The UK’s construction sector is growing and leading the way in many fields, but productivity and skills are big issues we need to address and I look forward to working with my colleagues on the council to achieve this.”
Each council member is being given a specific workstream in which to deliver improvements to working practices in the industry. There will no doubt be plenty of opportunities on their subcommittees for organisations that have lost seats on the main council.
Anna Stewart has been given the topic of skills. Madani Sow gets supply chain / business models. Andrew Wolstenholme takes on innovation. Mike Putnam, already co-chair of the Green Construction Board, is given the sustainability brief.
Various industry representatives reacted with dismay to the restructuring. See our report on industry reaction here.
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