‘Arrogant‘ RICS bosses face vote of confidence

Launce Morgan, the chair of the RICS’ construction faculty, this week called for a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the institution.

Morgan said the institution was overstaffed, overly bureaucratic and undemocratic, and he described its management as “arrogant”.

He added that leading figures at the RICS, including chief executive Louis Armstrong, had failed the 40,000 members of the construction faculty.

In a statement sent to the RICS on Tuesday, Morgan said: “They have created an empire, shielded from reality, which is plunging the institution into chaos, with many members questioning whether this will be their last year as a chartered surveyor.”

He called for an extraordinary general meeting of the body to be held in October and listed a number of essential reforms. These are:

I had meetings with senior people but we got nowhere. We are in a worse position than last year

Launce Morgan

• The introduction of a two-part subscription system, whereby a member might opt out of receiving full RICS services but retain their chartered status for a minimum subscription payment
• Independent and ringfenced funding for faculties and regions
• One-member-one-vote elections for the president and senior vice presidents of the RICS.

Speaking to QS News, a sister magazine of Building, Morgan said he had been frustrated at his lack of power since he took up the post in March last year. He said: “I’ve had meetings with senior people but we’ve got nowhere. We are in a worse position than last year.”

Rob Mahoney, chair of the RICS faculties and forums board, said: “Significant improvements have been made over the past year to the support the RICS gives to our members in the construction sector. We have significantly increased our influence with the government and are working to improve the products and services for them.”

Morgan is urging RICS members to express their views on his proposal by emailing him at launce@hotmail.com.