The Specialist Engineering Contractors Group has called for future construction ministers to be appointed at minister of state level.

The proposal is part of an agenda that the SEC Group has published to influence party manifestos at the general election, expected in May.

The agenda calls for the minister of construction to work exclusively for construction. Current construction minister Nigel Griffiths is also responsible for small business.

Trevor Hursthouse, chairman of the group, said: “The construction industry must be able to demonstrate that it is willing to change. We are simply asking the politicians to put in place measures that will facilitate such change.”

The agenda also calls for the PFI and PPP bidding process to be reviewed and simplified, and for public sector clients to promote the use of project insurance. It also proposes that retention should be abolished in the public sector.