In 2010 CEW published, No Turning Back, an industry-led report on the performance of the construction sector with recommendation for the Welsh Government, public sector clients and the broader establishment of the Construction Procurement Steering Group by the Minister for Finance and Government Business, Jane Hutt. That was four years ago. We were in a recession. The marketplace was heading towards lowest price and adversarial relationships.

Four years on and we’re in a different place. Economic prospects are improved albeit public spending levels remain under pressure. So are the recommendation made in 2010 still relevant? Has progress been made? Do we need to focus our energies? Have public sector procurement practices developed?

We want to find out.

Over the next two months we will be interviewing key people and organisations from across Wales to gather their views and will be presenting an industry report to the Minister to drive further action. This will be your opportunity to input to this process as we run a short presentation and facilitated discussion on ‘the state of the industry.’

On Wednesday, in Cardiff, CEW held what was the first of a series of events where we seek to discuss the issues, and hope to pinpoint the problems that need solving. We are also holding these events on 11^th November in Swansea and 4^th December in Llandudno to register email CEWales. We will also take this opportunity to share with you the latest three year forward programme of Welsh Local Authorities (2014/18) which sets out their planned capital programmes for the next three years. This is a ‘must’ for any organisation seeking greater industry of future workloads. We will also set this against the context of the Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan (WIIP). Check out our events page for details.