The role of Chief Construction Adviser is a British civil service appointment. It was created by United Kingdom ministers in 2009 to provide cross-departmental coordination and leadership on UK construction industry policy, and discontinued in 2015.
The "creation of a post of Chief Construction Officer" was recommended by the House of Commons Business and Enterprise Select Committee in July 2008.[1] The UK government directly or indirectly provides around 40% of the construction industry's workload so its influence as a client is significant.
Paul Morrell was the first person appointed to this pan-departmental role, with a slightly revised title of 'chief construction adviser', in November 2009; the role was initially for two years, and Morrell was re-appointed for a further one-year term in October 2011.[2]
In July 2012, Morrell's successor, Peter Hansford, was announced.[3] Hansford took up the role on 1 December 2012. On 2 July 2014, construction minister Michael Fallon announced that Hansford's term of office would be extended to November 2015.[4] [5]
To the dismay of many in the industry,[6] in July 2015, the Government announced that "the role of the Chief Construction Adviser will not be continued after the incumbent Peter Hansford’s tenure ends in November 2015."[7]