Rethinking Construction and CBPP confirm merger

Rethinking Construction and the Construction Best Practice Programme will definitely be merged this year, according to sources close to the negotiations.

A meeting in two weeks' time between the two parties and the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) will confirm the merger of the two organisations in the hope that it can be a single point of contact for the Strategic Forum.

Chairman of the Forum, Peter Rogers, said it was essential that the organisations come to a decision soon so that it can take forward the targets highlighted in Accelerating Change.

"One of the concerns when I joined was that there were too many organisations causing fragmentation," he said. "The Forum is the think-tank but we need a strong group to make sure action happens at ground level. A strong communication matrix is essential to do this."

A new name for the body has not yet been considered, but the DTI has confirmed that it will still provide funding to the two partners.

The next meeting of the Forum is scheduled to take place on 7 February.