Paul Morrell, the government’s chief construction adviser, has called on the coalition not to abolish delivery agencies such as Partnerships for Schools

Morrell, who has set himself the task of making construction more efficient, said the agencies were not dispensible. He said: “The first condition of good building is good clients, so do not get rid of delivery agencies. The first thing clients must know is what constitutes a good enough building and the second is what they should pay for it.”

Speaking at a reception at the House of Commons, Morrell added that he aimed to improve payment times and make the prequalification process simpler, particularly for SMEs.

He also called for more standardisation and offsite manufacturing to achieve economies of scale.