Last edited 05 Sep 2024

Chief construction adviser

1 Introduction
2 History
- 2.1 Paul Morrell
- 2.2 Peter Hansford
3 Abolition
4 Grenfell Tower Inquiry
5 Related articles on Designing Buildings
6 External references

[edit] Introduction

The Chief Construction Adviser was a UK Civil Service appointment created by ministers in 2008 to provide cross-departmental coordination and leadership on UK construction industry policy.

[edit] History

The creation of a post of Chief Construction Officer was recommended by the House of Commons Business and Enterprise Select Committee in July 2008. Subsequently referred to as the 'Chief Construction Adviser' (CCA), the role included chairing the Government Construction Board, responsible for overseeing the Government Construction Strategy.

The intention of the strategy is to reduce the cost of public sector construction by up to 20% and to stimulate growth in construction. The strategy:

…calls for a profound change in the relationship between public authorities and the construction industry to ensure the Government consistently gets a good deal and the country gets the social and economic infrastructure it needs for the long-term……

[edit] Paul Morrell

The first Chief Construction Adviser, appointed in November 2009, was Paul Morrell, a quantity surveyor and former senior partner of Davis Langdon. The role was initially for two years, but Morrell was re-appointed for a further one-year term in October 2011. Morrell focussed on the use of government purchase power and benchmarking to drive down tender prices and on the roll out of Building Information Modelling (BIM) for public projects.

[edit] Peter Hansford

In July 2012, the name of Morrell's successor, Peter Hansford, was announced. Hansford had previously been President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Chairman of the Infrastructure Steering Committee and executive director at the Nichols Group. He took up the role on 1 December 2012.

[edit] Abolition

On 16 July 2015, Skills Minister at the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) and Co-Chair of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) Nick Boles MP announced that the CLC would be restructured. Ref Gov.uk. The restructuring of the CLC involved reducing the number of members from 30 to just 12.

The new Council is intended to ‘build on the work of the government’s Chief Construction Adviser. However, since the role was created, the Government Construction Strategy has been developed, Construction 2025 published and the CLC created. The government argue that this has led to duplication of roles. As a result, the CCA position was scrapped in November 2015 when the tenure of Peter Hansford ended.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) said, “The loss of the Chief Construction Adviser role at this crucial time will leave a significant gap in terms of drawing together the skills of the sector. The industry needs to look at how the workstreams announced will be coordinated to avoid silos developing in the new approach. It’s therefore vital that the work of the new Construction Leadership Council is informed by the whole of the industry and the professional services sector has strong representation.”

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) proposed that the construction industry itself might fund the role of chief construction adviser to "keep this important post which combines both expert advice to ministers and the highest representative of the industry."

However, the role was abolished as planned, and Cabinet Office minister Nick Hancock took over responsibility for the Government Construction Strategy.

For more information see Restructuring the Construction Leadership Council for more information.

On 19 February 2016, The House of Lords Select Committee on National Policy for the Built Environment published Building Better Places, which called for the role to be reinstated. However, the Government Response to the Report of the House of Lords Select Committee on the Built Environment, published in November 2016, rejected the proposal. The report suggested that, 'At present the chief planner provides the central leadership to ensure the planning system supports the delivery of housing growth, climate change, sustainable economic development and works to protect and enhance the natural environment...We consider this a better use of resources than creating a specific new senior role."

[edit] Grenfell Tower Inquiry

Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 report overview, report of the public inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017, published in September 2024, states:

The minister will need to be able to turn for advice to someone who has a good working knowledge and practical experience of the construction industry. We therefore recommend that the Secretary of State appoint a Chief Construction Adviser with a sufficient budget and staff to provide advice on all matters affecting the construction industry, including:

a. monitoring all aspects of the department’s work relating to the Building Regulations and statutory guidance;
b. providing advice to the Secretary of State on request; and
c. bringing to the attention of the Secretary of State any matters affecting the Building Regulations and statutory guidance or matters affecting the construction industry more generally of which the government should be aware.