Government Construction Playbook aimed at improving construction supply chain

The government has published the Construction Playbook which is intended to capture commercial best practices and specific sector reforms. The guidance outlines the government’s expectations of how contracting authorities and suppliers, including the supply chain, should engage with each other.

The expectations are set out in 14 key policies for how the government should assess, procure and deliver public works projects and programmes which all central government departments and their arms length bodies are expected to follow on a ‘comply or explain’ basis.

Josh Hardie, CBI Deputy Director-General, said: “Business welcomes the publication of the Construction Playbook, developed in close partnership with industry, which marks an important milestone in government’s efforts to overhaul procurement of public sector construction.

“The Construction Playbook addresses many of the contracting challenges that CBI members and industry have long known lead to problems when it comes to delivering projects on time and on budget.

“The government is construction’s biggest client, meaning a sea-change in the way it buys from the construction industry is critical to spreading better practices across the sector and through the supply chain.

“To maximise its impact, the principles and guidance in the Construction Playbook now need to be rolled out across the public sector quickly. Adopting the Playbook’s ‘comply or explain’ principle, all public sector procuring bodies should plan to implement and embed the best practices within the Construction Playbook over the coming months.”

Earlier this year the CBI called for government to mandate outsourcing guidance for the construction sector in its report Fine Margins.

Greg Craig, chair of the CBI Construction Council and President and CEO of Skanska UK, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to transform our industry. We know the new policies and approach will help to deliver safer, faster and lower cost outcomes for customers, with lower carbon impact.

“The way to make this work is for every tier of the supply chain to adopt and apply the key principles within their own sourcing activities.”