Sir John Egan has joined battle with critics of his skills review, saying the professions are "obsessed by process" and "unable to see the wood for the trees".
Egan's report on the skills needed to deliver sustainable communities, unveiled on Monday (HT 23 April, page 12), attracted criticism for not delivering enough concrete recommendations and not accepting that there is a skills shortage in areas such as planning.

Egan gave evidence to an ODPM select committee review of his report on Tuesday. Responding to allegations that professionals had branded his work "codswallop", he said: "I have no interest in negative responses to my work. You should have seen the barrage of negative press I got from the construction industry after my [Rethinking Construction] report – but that has not stopped it being a success.

"This is typical of the professions in not seeing the wood for the trees – they are too obsessed by process, not outcome. What is absolutely clear is that they are not producing communities fit to live in, so they have to change."

He said planners were particularly critical because he had identified slack in the planning system. "Once we've cut out the waste, and we're doing it properly, we'll find out what kind of skills shortage we have."

Source

Housing Today