Data-driven strategy will make government missions possible says Construction Industry Council

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has urged Government to consider the exceptional benefits a long-term sectoral strategy for construction and the built environment would bring.

The appeal came as part of the CIC response to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) consultation on Invest 2035: the UK’s modern industrial strategy. CIC also contributed to the Construction Leadership Council response.

The main asks from CIC were for construction to be seen as a critical foundational sector and for a sectoral strategy to be drawn up with meaningful input from built environment professionals.

Government’s missions and challenges are inextricably tied to the broader construction and built environment sector. These aims include unlocking regional growth, meeting net zero, building infrastructure such as new prisons, data centres and hospitals, fostering healthier communities and increasing tax take through a buoyant economy. In particular, industry is being tasked with making 1.5 million new homes within 5 years.

A long term, data-driven commitment to the construction industry would bring cross-government benefits which include saving the NHS money by improving poor quality homes and reducing the £22bn a year expense to the taxpayer to maintain Government’s property portfolio. Construction is also a huge contributor in terms of UK greenhouse gas emissions and can play a crucial role in reducing embodied carbon and leading the transition to a circular, low-waste economy.

CIC stressed the need to embrace a data-driven approach and agree milestones for progress. A coherent strategy and measurable objectives would help develop the skills and capacity to deliver major infrastructure and drive best practice through improved reporting and analysis of post-occupancy performance data. Government and industry would need to work together to move data reporting further away from a box ticking exercise and more in line with the spirit of the ‘Golden Thread’ requirements being brought in through the Building Safety Act to foster a longer-term, more collaborative approach.

Graham Watts, CIC Chief Executive commented “Construction accounts for an estimated 7% of GDP and employs over 2 million people across all the UK. Over and above this it is an enabler sector for much of the UK economy, not least the growth sectors highlighted in the Strategy document. Recent projects such as the Stirling Prize-winning Elizabeth Line and the shortlisted Kings Cross Masterplan show that our built environment sector retains its world-leading expertise in the development of high-quality, high-value, sustainable infrastructure. The challenge for industry and government is to work together to spread these benefits across the UK.”