Strategic Forum is ‘losing momentum’

The source revealed that many, if not all, of the forum's targets set out in Accelerating Change last year are unlikely to be met.

These include: 20% of construction projects by value to be completed by integrated teams by the end of next year; 20% of client activity to embrace the Clients' Charter by December 2004; and the recruitment and retention of 300,000 qualified people by the end of 2006.

"There is just no firm action being taken by those at the coal face," said the insider. "Despite all the efforts of Peter Rogers [chairman of the forum], major cracks are starting to appear in what started out as a groundbreaking initiative for the whole industry."

The source laid the blame firmly with the Construction Confederation (CC). He described the CC as "being more interested in sorting out the move from its current offices than in its challenging targets to improve people and recruitment issues".

CJ has also learnt that both the CC and the National Specialist Contractors' Council have refused to pay their £10,000 forum membership fees, leaving the Department of Trade & Industry to foot the bill.

A CC spokesman confirmed this, but said the decision "didn't show any less commitment. We're as committed as anyone to the cause".

The forum's problems seemed to have been recognised by Rogers after he reduced the number of forum members and the frequency in which the forum met in a bid to help build momentum.

However, the move appears to have made little impact and was not helped by the collapse of the Confederation of Construction Clients, which is slowly being reformed into the Construction Clients Group.

The Construction Industry Training Board's chairman Sir Michael Latham is also believed to be "increasingly frustrated" by the forum's lack of progress, according to the source.

Questioned on whether the forum would meet its targets, Rogers hesitantly said he was "fairly confident" it would, although it is a "big challenge" for the industry.

The source concluded: "What we are starting to see now is a repeat of the situation of the Construction Industry Board, which became defunct after it turned into an initiative with a lot of talk but little action."