Construction minister Nick Raynsford will lead the debate for the government. His new Conservative shadow, Robert Syms, whose family runs construction business C Syms & Sons in the south of England, will lead for the Conservatives. Insiders said the debate could prove uncomfortable for the government as opposition MPs will use the occasion to attack its record.
Former Conservative construction minister Tony Baldry said: “There’s no doubt that the government will be challenged on the cowboy issue. The Birmingham pilot has had a pathetic response.” Baldry, who has been a vociferous opponent of the government’s voluntary quality mark scheme, introduced a 10-minute bill calling for statutory accreditation last summer. The bill failed to make it on to the statute book.
He said he would renew his call for compulsory measures to combat cowboy builders in the session next Thursday.
The debate, which will be open to the public, is the first on construction since the general election in 1997 and will take place on 18 May in the Westminster Hall inside parliament. The government has set aside three hours for the session, which will begin at 2.30pm.
Baldry added: “The government is setting aside almost a day for this debate and it’s a great opportunity for those involved in the industry to tell the government what it wants. Everyone should contact their MP and tell him or her what their concerns are.”
Another issue MPs are understood to be keen to press the government on is whether the DETR is getting value for money from the initiatives it has launched, such as the Movement for Innovation and the Construction Best Practice Programme. The National Audit Office, parliament’s spending watchdog, is investigating the government’s construction policy to see if its initiatives are wasting taxpayers’ money.
Government insiders say the debate will allow the main parties to set out their manifestos for the industry before the expected election in 2001.
