{"id":530223,"date":"2025-10-07T00:01:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T23:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=530223"},"modified":"2025-10-06T15:16:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T14:16:43","slug":"ciob-urges-reform-to-reshape-volatile-construction-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/government\/ciob-urges-reform-to-reshape-volatile-construction-landscape-07-10-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"CIOB urges reform to reshape \u2018volatile\u2019 construction landscape"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) is calling for structural reforms to reduce volatility in the construction sector.<\/p>\n

In a new report called Capacity Constraints in Construction: Rethinking the Business Environment<\/em>, the industry body has warned that current conditions are undermining the industry\u2019s ability to meet government housing and infrastructure targets.<\/p>\n

The CIOB said the sector may have to expand by up to 40 per cent to deliver Labour\u2019s 1.5 million homes pledge and support decarbonisation across the built environment.<\/p>\n

But it argued that long-standing problems such as labour shortages, persistent insolvencies and fractured delivery models will prevent firms from scaling up unless the business environment is reshaped.<\/p>\n

This morning\u2019s report, compiled by economist and construction analyst Brian Green, aims to show policymakers how systemic volatility \u2013 rather than the behaviour of individual firms – is driving industry instability.<\/p>\n

\u201cConstruction is regarded as the most volatile major sector of the economy,\u201d he said. \u201cFirms shape themselves to withstand swings between too much work and too little resource. It is inefficient and debilitating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Green added that the new report \u201ctakes a different tack\u201d to previous studies, which he said tended to focus on symptoms such as poor training or adversarial contracts.<\/p>\n

Lee Bryer, research strategy lead at the Construction Industry Training Board, said: \u201cThis report offers a different lens. Rather than seeing construction as dysfunctional, it presents the sector as rationally adapted to a dysfunctional environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CIOB report outlines five areas for reform: reducing volatility, improving data, enhancing policy effectiveness, aligning government objectives, and increasing innovation adoption (see boxout for more information).<\/p>\n

But the industry body’s head of policy and public affairs David Barnes said the proposals will fall short unless the government tackles core issues such as fragmented pipelines and short-term policy cycles.<\/p>\n

Green\u2019s report said the institutional framework guiding construction is \u201cbewilderingly complex\u201d, with more than 20 government departments and agencies involved but no overarching strategy.<\/p>\n

This lack of coordination fuels uncertainty in planning, slows delivery and perpetuates boom-bust cycles that leave contractors unable to plan or invest.<\/p>\n

Labour pressures – especially an ageing workforce – compound the issues facing contractors, the report said.<\/p>\n

It warned that without lasting reform, the industry risks repeating the failings of past booms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis does not deny the need for short-term fixes,\u201d CIOB president Paul Gandy said in his foreword to the report.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the eyes of the industry and policy makers should be on the long-term\u2026 All too often the opportunities from construction upturns have been squandered or lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Five steps to boost capacity<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Reduce volatility<\/strong> \u2013 the construction industry needs consistent, long-term pipelines of work, better timing of funding announcements, and greater transparency around investment decisions. The report criticises the current \u201cboom-bust\u201d pattern created by ad hoc policy changes and project cancellations.<\/li>\n
  2. Improve data<\/strong> \u2013 decisions affecting billions of pounds of public infrastructure are often made with outdated or incomplete information. The CIOB report says better real-time data on workforce capacity, demand, and regional pressures is essential to planning and investment.<\/li>\n
  3. Enhance policy effectiveness<\/strong> \u2013 the report calls for clearer alignment between national goals and delivery mechanisms. It says targets, such as net zero or new housing pledges, are often disconnected from policy levers that enable construction output. Weak coordination across departments and delivery agencies compounds this issue.<\/li>\n
  4. Align government objectives<\/strong> \u2013 the construction industry is expected to meet multiple, sometimes conflicting, policy demands without clarity on how priorities will be balanced. The CIOB proposes a cross-departmental strategy, co-ordinated through a single construction ministry or taskforce.<\/li>\n
  5. Increase innovation <\/strong>\u2013 the report recommends reforms to procurement and risk-sharing to support long-term investment in modern methods of construction and digital delivery. It says current contracting models offer little incentive for firms to invest in innovation or workforce development.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    Source: CIOB<\/em><\/p>\n

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    The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) is calling for structural reforms to reduce volatility in the construction sector. In a new report called Capacity Constraints in Construction: Rethinking the Business Environment, the industry body has warned that current conditions are undermining the industry\u2019s ability to meet government housing and infrastructure targets. The CIOB said the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135716,"featured_media":489789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57172,565],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-530223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-consultants","category-government"],"yoast_head":"\nCIOB urges reform to reshape \u2018volatile\u2019 construction landscape | Construction News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) is calling for structural reforms to reduce volatility in the construction sector. 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