Confusion reigns over the creation of a new working party to revamp cowboy builder initiative
The DETR has gone back to the drawing board in an attempt to boost its troubled cowboy builder initiative.

A working party is to be created to encourage more firms to sign up for the quality mark scheme. Since trials in Birmingham and Somerset were completed, it has attracted only two companies on to its books.

A DETR spokesperson also acknowledged that trade association qualifications would be taken into account by the quality mark assessors in future. This follows complaints from contractors that the qualification process was overly bureaucratic.

Don Ward, chief executive of the Construction Industry Board, said the new group would be asked to keep the industry informed about the scheme. He said: "This is a response to the black hole of information. There has been no system in place to warn trade associations of trouble."

Plans to create a working party were revealed at a recent meeting between senior DETR officials and construction trade associations.

An industry source said it was not clear who would head the party or when it would start to meet.

He said: "We have heard nothing. But the DETR is now in listening mode; it had gone off in a huddle to develop the pilot schemes and deliberately kept people at arms' length. Now it wants to win back the confidence of industry."

However, another industry source said there were concerns that the group would have no real power.

He said: "We envisaged a group with a proper chairman rather than one composed on an ad hoc basis. They [the DETR] think that contractors ask awkward questions and just get in the way."

A DETR spokesperson agreed that progress had been slow but denied industry suggestions that the original working party, which oversaw implementation of the scheme, was to be formed again.

He said: "We are entering into more intense dialogue with industry trade associations in an effort to get as many builders on board as possible. At the scheme's launch it was announced that we would be working closely with trade associations. Whether you call that a working party is up to you."

Industry sources said the intention had been to roll out the scheme to consumers in Birmingham by Christmas, after enough firms signed up for the pilot scheme.

But the spokesperson said the scheme did not have a definite timetable: "We have not given a date on a consumer launch or national roll out."

The original working party was chaired by Tony Merricks. He was unavailable for comment.

Rise and fall of the mark one quality mark

November 1997 Nick Raynsford announces plans for an ABTA-style approval scheme for construction April 1999 A wide ranging consultation is launched by Raynsford on plans for a new quality mark May 2000 Raynsford admits that take-up of the scheme in its Birmingham pilot has been slow November 2000 New working party set up to boost flagging support