• New Construction Playbook details how government and industry can better work together to deliver public sector works in a more modern and efficient way
• It also outlines green initiatives for the construction industry to minimise greenhouse gas emissions of projects
• The new guidance has been developed in consultation with construction industry

New plans on how government will work with the construction sector to make sure public sector works are delivered faster, better and greener have been launched today.

In 2018, public sector works contributed some £117 billion to the UK economy, as well as supporting over two million jobs.

The Construction Playbook, launched today, outlines what government expects from these works, from new roads and railway lines to schools, hospitals and prisons.

The Playbook also outlines the key role the construction sector will play in both the UK’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and work to bring greenhouse gas emissions down to net zero by 2050. Green initiatives in the Playbook include promoting the use of carbon assessments to understand and minimise the greenhouse emissions of projects.

Other specific measures include:

• Providing greater certainty to industry through long term plans for key programmes. This will include longer term contracting across a range of areas which will give industry the certainty required to invest in new technologies, delivering improved productivity and efficiency savings
• Incentivising industry to innovate by focusing on the output of what we want a project to achieve, rather than micromanaging how it is done
• Modernising construction by standardising designs and parts, as well as embedding digital technologies including the UK Building Information Management Framework
• Greater focus on building positive relationships with robust contract management between project leads and industry
• Investing more in training and apprenticeships, driving forward innovation in construction, boost productivity and focus on value for money in public sector developments

Learning lessons from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the Construction Playbook also makes it clear that the construction sector must put safety at the heart of everything it does.

Cabinet Office Minister Lord Agnew, said:

As the largest construction sector customer, government is in an ideal position to ensure that the industry is productive, professional and delivers value for money for taxpayers.

By adopting the new Construction Playbook, developed with industry partners, we will help ensure that the sector becomes greener and more innovative.

Andy Mitchell, the CEO of Tideway and Co-Chair of Construction Leadership Council:

The Government can influence the whole direction that our sector takes with the way it buys new public buildings and infrastructure.

The Construction Leadership Council is delighted that Government is showing real leadership in this regard. The Construction Playbook commits us all to drive positive change with better, long-term relationships and more efficient ways of working. The CLC will give its support to engage the industry to play its part in embedding the Playbook recommendations across our sector.

Michael Graham, the Chairman of the Graham Group said:

This is a fantastic opportunity for industry and the Government to come together and change the face of UK construction to deliver sustained value for money and a more stable, productive industry.

The launch of the Construction Playbook is only the start of the journey and we look forward to playing our role to help deliver these better outcomes.

The Construction Playbook has been created following months of detailed talks between the government and the construction sector. The measures launched today have been backed by construction firms and business associations from across the industry.

The document also outlines how the Government will strengthen the financial assessment of all the suppliers it works with to make sure projects are delivered on time and to budget.

For more details of the Construction Playbook visit here

The Lord Chancellor, the Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC, has appointed Sir Ashley Fox to be the first chair of the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements (IMA) for a tenure of 4 years. His appointment commenced on 8 December 2020 and run until 7 December 2024.

Sir Ashley’s appointment follows a Justice Select Committee pre-appointment hearing on 24 November and the publication of the Committee’s report into the same on 3 December. The Lord Chancellor and Sir Ashley have noted the report’s contents and recommendations.

The Lord Chancellor has also made the following Non-Executive Member Appointments.

• Punam Birly has been appointed as non-executive member of the IMA for a 2 year tenure;
• Marcus Killick has been appointed as non-executive member with knowledge about conditions in Gibraltar relating to citizens’ rights for a 3 year tenure; and
• Leo O’Reilly has been appointed as non-executive member with knowledge about conditions in Northern Ireland relating to citizens’ rights for a 3 year tenure.

The appointees all commenced their tenure on 8 December 2020.

Non-executive appointments to the IMA are not currently regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

However, the Chair and Members have been appointed following fair and open competitions run in line with the process set out in the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Further campaigns are currently underway to appoint a member with knowledge of the conditions in Scotland relating to the rights of citizens under the EU Withdrawal Agreement and EEA EFTA Separation Agreement, and a member with knowledge of the conditions in Wales relating to those rights, with the appointments expected to be announced by the end of January and the end of February 2021, respectively.

Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements

The IMA is a brand-new public body, which has been established under the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (EUWAA). The IMA needs to be operational by the end of 2020. The chair of the IMA will play a crucial role in establishing the IMA’s early direction and effectiveness, and in winning the confidence of its stakeholders.

Under the provisions set out in EUWAA, the IMA will have the power to receive complaints, launch inquiries and initiate legal proceedings. The IMA will also have a role in reviewing the effectiveness of the citizens’ rights legislative framework, for instance by reviewing draft legislation. The legislation also provides that it is important for the IMA to focus on general or systemic failures in the implementation of the citizens’ rights agreements, as well as receiving and investigating individual complaints. The IMA will have to publish guidance on how it will exercise its functions.

Biographies

Sir Ashley Fox – Chair of the IMA:

Sir Ashley is a business consultant providing strategic advice on the European Union. Since 2015 he has been the lay member on the Leadership Nomination Committee of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Sir Ashley served as MEP for the South West of England and Gibraltar from 2009 to 2019. He was Leader of the Conservative MEPs from 2014 to 2019. Prior to being elected Sir Ashley practised as a solicitor in Bristol.

Punam Birly – Member:

Punam was a Partner at KPMG LLP (UK) from 2008 – 2020. She was Head of Employment and Immigration within the Tax and Legal Services Practice and the lead on People related Brexit issues. She is an EU/international social security specialist. She is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales and previously worked at Andersen, Deloitte and PwC.

Marcus Killick – Member with knowledge about conditions in Gibraltar relating to citizens’ rights:

Marcus qualified as a Barrister at Law (England and Wales), an Attorney at Law (New York), and a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment. His current role is Chief Executive Officer of ISOLAS LLP, one of Gibraltar’s leading law firms.

Leo O’Reilly – Member with knowledge about conditions in Northern Ireland relating to citizens’ rights:

Leo is a Non-Executive Audit and Risk Committee Member of the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. He was a former civil servant in the Northern Ireland Civil Service with over 27 years’ experience as a senior civil servant covering a diverse range of functions and activities across government in both NI and GB. These include over 11 years as the Permanent Secretary of three Northern Ireland departments.

Recognised breed societies for bovine, ovine, porcine and caprine species, and recognised breed operations for hybrid breeding pigs.

The National Data Guardian for Health and Social Care (NDG) Dame Fiona Caldicott has today published the outcomes from a public consultation that she ran to seek views on her intention to:

• revise the existing 7 Caldicott Principles
• introduce a new principle about ensuring there are no surprises for patients and service users about the use of their confidential information
• issue guidance about the role of Caldicott Guardians using her statutory powers

The consultation response contains a revised – and expanded – set of 8 Caldicott Principles and includes a commitment to issue guidance about Caldicott Guardians in 2021.

The Caldicott Principles, first introduced in 1997 and previously amended in 2013, are guidelines applied widely across the field of health and social care information governance to ensure that people’s data is kept safe and used appropriately. Caldicott Guardians support the upholding of these principles at an organisational level.

The new principle’s purpose is to make clear that patient and service user expectations must be considered and informed when confidential information is used, to ensure ‘no surprises’ about the handling or sharing of their data. Following feedback from the consultation, the wording of this new, eighth principle is:

Principle 8: Inform patients and service users about how their confidential information is used

A range of steps should be taken to ensure no surprises for patients and service users, so they can have clear expectations about how and why their confidential information is used, and what choices they have about this. These steps will vary depending on the use: as a minimum, this should include providing accessible, relevant and appropriate information – in some cases, greater engagement will be required.

Its introduction was prompted by a careful consideration of the role that the legal concept of ‘reasonable expectations’ should play in shaping the circumstances under which health and care data may be legitimately shared. The NDG does not envisage that this principle will establish reasonable expectations as a legal basis in its own right to meet the duty of confidence. However, given the influence of the Caldicott Principles, she does believe it will helpfully emphasise the perspective of patients and service users in decisions to use and share confidential information.

The consultation response also confirms the NDG’s intention to issue guidance using her statutory powers in 2021 about the appointment of Caldicott Guardians for all public bodies within the health and adult social care sector in England, and all organisations which contract with such public bodies to deliver health or adult social care services. The guidance will define the roles and responsibilities of Caldicott Guardians and how they should be supported by their organisations. The guidance will provide flexibility for organisations for which it is not proportionate to appoint a dedicated Caldicott Guardian and will suggest options/models to ensure those organisations can still have a Caldicott function.

Supporting resources will be made available for those who need to appoint a Caldicott Guardian or establish a Caldicott function within their organisations.

This will be the first time that the National Data Guardian has issued statutory guidance using her powers under the Health and Social Care (National Data Guardian) Act 2018.

Notes to editors

The consultation was conducted via a written survey, which received 194 responses, and eight online focus groups involving 88 patients, social care service users and members of the public. These activities were supplemented by engagement with key individuals and organisations from across the health and care system, before and during the consultation period.

A set of six principles was first published as part of The Caldicott Committee’s Report on the Review of Patient-Identifiable Information published in 1997 to serve as good practice guidelines to be applied to the use of confidential information within the NHS. A further principle was added in 2013 as part of The Information Governance Review.

The 1997 review also recommended that a senior person, preferably a health professional, should be nominated in each health organisation to act as a guardian, responsible for safeguarding the confidentiality of patient information. These became known as Caldicott Guardians. Local authorities with adult social care responsibilities have been required to have one since 2002. There are over 18,000 Caldicott Guardians in post today.

The National Data Guardian has published a blog post on this topic.

For further information contact Jenny Westaway, Head of the Office of the National Data Guardian on j.westaway@nhs.net or 07827 955 604