Chief construction officer role at risk

Writing in this week’s Building, Sir Michael Latham has criticised the government’s handling of the proposed role of chief construction officer, which would involve co-ordinating policy on construction projects across all spending departments.

The role was recommended in the Construction Matters report by the select committee of the business and enterprise department (BERR), which was published last July.

However, an 8 page consultation paper on the role was only published in mid-February by the Construction Sector Unit of the BERR.

The paper has already drawn criticism for asking over-detailed questions that most consultees in the industry would find difficult to answer, and for stating that the CCO would be a Grade II civil servant rather than a permanent secretary.

Now, Sir Michael Latham is airing his concerns that the delay and BERR’s approach to the consultation means that it is essentially going through the motions without giving the new post the backing it needs.

The author of Constructing the Team used his regular Building column to write: “I suspect that the powers that be have decided that they do not want a CCO, and they prefer to do the job they would have in their own way. But as the NAO [National Audit Office] has shown, that often does not work, or produce best practice.”

Other commentators share his concerns. Graham Watts, chief executive of the Construction Industry Council, told Building: “There’s a lot of unnecessary detail in the paper. Nobody with any knowledge of the industry or gravitas will be attracted to the position described. The hopes and aspirations of the industry for this role are being dashed.