Reshuffle delays construction death report

A source at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the replacement of pensions secretary James Purnell with former housing minister Yvette Cooper would push publication back until at least mid-July.

The source said he believed the inquiry, by Rita Donaghy, former chair of employment relations body ACAS, was complete, but could not be presented to the work and pensions select committee until Cooper was “up to speed”.

The DWP said Donaghy would hand over the report to ministers later this month and that it would be published shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile, the industry has expressed anger at the removal of Ian Pearson as construction minister less than nine months after he took the post. As Building went to press it was thought that junior minister Ian Lucas, MP for Wrexham, was due to be named as the ninth construction minister in eight years.

Rudi Klein, chief executive of the Specialist Engineering Contractors Group, said he was angered by the decision to keep the construction minister as a junior post. “It beggars belief that they are going for a sub-ministerial ranking,” he said.

However, the reshuffled minister at the new Department for Business, Innovation and Skills reaffirmed his commitment to creating a chief construction officer post.

Speaking at the Construction Industry Council annual general meeting, Pat McFadden, minister of state and Peter Mandelson’s deputy at the department, said it was committed to creating “a single point of contact for the industry”.

“We are in active discussions with the Office of Government Commerce,” he said. “It is important we have proper governance measures in place.”

He added that the position would be cross-governmental, but refused to give any timeframe for creating it. “I don’t know when we will hear about it, but we are very keen on the idea.”

Other changes included the replacement of Margaret Beckett as housing minister by John Healey; Vernon Coaker became schools minister.

Who’s the new boy?

Ian Lucas is bit of a newcomer in government circles, having only been assistant whip since October 2008. Construction is not one of his avowed interests, although as MP for Wrexham he did meet bosses at JCB in January after they sacked 58 workers in his constituency. He has a distinctly green streak, having asked several questions in parliament about low-carbon buildings and requested that all buildings in the Olympic Park be self-sufficient in energy use. Photovoltaics are a particular interest – maybe because Sharp’s PV plant in Wrexham employs 600 of his constituents. Although he was relatively unscathed by the expenses scandal, Lucas claimed £1,388 to furnish his London flat. He said: “I regard a bed as an essential item.”