Ian Lucas confirmed as next construction minister

The little-known MP for Wrexham Ian Lucas has been confirmed as the ninth construction minister since 2001, as tipped by ContractJournal.com.

Lucas has been made Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the newly formed Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

He takes over from Ian Pearson, who was called up to become Economics Secretary in the Treasury as part of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's reshuffle.

It will be the latest in a long-line of appointments to the post - the ninth since 2001.

Meanwhile John Healey is to take the post of Housing Minister at Communities and Local Government.

A spokesman for the National Federation of Builders said: “Unfortunately this revolving door policy for the construction minister no longer comes as a surprise. Soon any minister that makes it to 12 months in the job will qualify for a gold watch for long service.

“With less than a year to the next General Election the new Minister will not even make it to the first candle on his or her cake.

“The key issue now for the NFB is to establish an effective working relationship with the incoming Minister.  We will yet again be doing our best to demonstrate the importance of SMEs to our industry and the wider economy.

“If we are not going to get a Minister in post long enough to get to grips with the intricacies of the issues and intrigues of our industry, we really need the proposed Chief Construction Officer to provide some semblance of continuity”.

CECA director, Rosemary Beales, said: "This Government does not appear take construction seriously. The industry has had four ministers responsible for construction in two years, despite the fact that our industry accounts for more than 8% of GDP and will be pivotal in delivering economic recovery.

"I will be writing to the new minister to urge action on a range of issues particularly emphasising the need for sustained investment in infrastructure and the value to the country as a whole of such actions."