Construction leaders in Downing Street summit

Twenty top industry figures met with the skills minister and the government’s chief construction adviser this morning to discuss ways to boost the industry.

The delegation, part of the Construction4Growth campaign led by CITB-ConstructionSkills, met with skills minister Mathew Hancock and chief construction adviser Peter Hansford at 11 Downing Street to discuss a ten-point plan to boost the industry.

The meeting was chairs by James Wates (pictured), CITB-ConstructionSkills chair, with the list of attendees including representatives from the UK Contractors Group, the Federation of Master Builders, the National Federation of Builders, CITB-ConstructionSkills, the CBI, the National Specialist Contractors Council, the Home Builders Federation and the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Simon Carr, Henry Boot Construction managing director, Steve Fox, Bam Nuttal chief executive, and Andrew Wyllie Costain chief executive, also attended.

Construction4Growth calls for greater investment in construction to drive growth and create jobs, and calls for government to:

• Quickly invest in shovel-ready projects such as the repair and maintenance of roads, housing, schools and hospitals.
• Empower local authorities to drive growth through construction by lifting borrowing caps on their Housing Revenue Accounts.
• Help to unlock future construction talent by requiring teacher- training courses to include an awareness raising programme for teachers on vocational careers and training opportunities for young people.
• Maintain construction apprenticeships as the “Gold Standard” by introducing flexible apprenticeship contracts that allow those aged 19 or over to progress to higher qualification levels without losing funding.

James Wates said: “The plan that the industry has developed and discussed with Government this morning builds on existing commitments and puts forward new, realistic ideas that we believe will have a significant impact on the economy.

“The Construction Skills Network figures published yesterday show that, in partnership with government, we need to grasp the moment and make a concerted and co-ordinated effort to ensure that the industry is in a position to help itself to help the UK economy.”