Last week’s torching of many construction policies made many industry commentators depressed and angry. Constructing Excellence sees the shift by the Conservatives as a major opportunity.

Last week CEW ran a business breakfast with the current (and perhaps last) Government Construction Advisor, Peter Hansford; Murray Rowden, Director of Infrastructure Turner & Townsend and Chair of Constructing Excellence and Don Ward, Chief Executive of Constructing Excellence. The plan was to discuss Government and industry progress towards the Construction 2025 industry strategy introduced in July 2013.

The 2025 strategy set out a clear and defined set of five key aspirations for UK construction, namely:

• People – an industry that is known for its talented and diverse workforce
• Smart – an industry that is efficient and technologically advanced
• Sustainable – an industry that leads the world in low-carbon and green construction exports
• Growth – an industry that drives growth across the entire economy
• Leadership – an industry with clear leadership from the Construction Leadership Council

None of these are in question, but how they are going to be achieved was under scrutiny following the Government’s move back from many of its construction policies in the matter of a few days last week. Coverage in Building magazine last week was balanced, but some commentators appeared full of gloom and painted a bleak picture for construction and Government. All of the articles are worth a read – especially the piece from Jack Pringle, commenting on Peter Hansford’s job role.

Peter, Murray and Don remain convinced that the vision and the targets set out in 2013 are still right to pursue and that industry must not return to the old adversarial methods or working and obsession with lowest tender. The view from the top is that now, more than ever is the time to press home the news that best practice and collaborative procurement is the way forward. More than anything else, the Government attitude now provides Constructing Excellence with an excellent chance to take the lead as a critical partner to UK Government.