BSRIA voices concerns about changes to Construction Leadership Council
BSRIA has expressed concern about the impact on the construction industry of changes to the Construction Leadership Council (CLC). An announcement from the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) involves restructuring the CLC, scrapping the council’s delivery group and abolishing the role of the Government’s chief construction advisor.
A new, smaller CLC will be established comprising individuals rather than leaders of the main representative bodies, although the Strategic Forum for Construction has been offered a seat on the new committee. The membership of the CLC is reduced from 30 to 12 members.
Julia Evans, chief executive of BSRIA, said, ‘BSRIA is concerned about the impact on the industry. We are especially disappointed at decision to move away from representative bodies, which we feel is the best arrangement in such a diverse and huge industry. The Government has often asked for industry to speak with a single voice but it appears itself now to be working against that objective. The CLC, as now constituted. is effectively just one more body, not a unification of the various sector organisations.’
She also believes that the loss of the role of chief construction adviser at this crucial time will leave a significant gap in terms of drawing together the skills of the sector. She says, ‘The industry needs to look at how the work streams announced will be co-ordinated to avoid silos developing in the new approach. It is, therefore, vital that the work of the new CLC is informed by the whole of the industry and that the professional services sector has strong representation.’
BSRIA is disillusioned that BIS Ministers and officials have placed the future emphasis on dialogue with industry, rather than working in partnership, which was the strapline to the industrial strategy ‘Construction 2025’.
