The government's proposed construction forum, has come under fire after it emerged that senior industry figures had not been consulted on its formation
Strategic forum chairman Peter Rogers was left "very disappointed" after construction minister Nigel Griffiths and DTI head of construction Elizabeth Whatmore failed to brief him about Ciper, even though he met them the previous week.

Rogers said: "It does worry me hugely that these bodies are being set up without any consultation with the existing bodies. To raise the profile of construction in government we've got to have focus, and this destroys that focus.

"If this new body is supposed to be the focus of government policy, people will ask: 'What's the point of the strategic forum?' I have to say, it's very disappointing."

The new body, which met for the first time yesterday, was unveiled as part of chancellor Gordon Brown's budget statement last week, and is intended to act as an interface for policy initiatives from Whitehall. It consists of industry bodies including the Construction Industry Council, the Construction Products Association and the Construction Clients' Group, and government departments such as the DTI and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Industry observers have voiced concerns about the existence of another trade body. One saw CIPER as yet another forum for the "same old institutional bodies", adding another layer of bureaucracy to the status quo, just as Brown pledged to cut Whitehall red tape.

Andrew Large, external affairs director at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "It's too early to say, but I will have healthy scepticism about CIPER until it is clear what it will focus on."