Latham causes conflict: Institutional development in the UK construction industry

At the time of writing there are signs that the various interested parties, who originally gave at least tacit support to the Latham Review of the UK construction industry are beginning to break rank. The Government itself, joint sponsors of the review, has disappointed many in the industry by its apparent lack of commitment to the full range of proposals in the Department of the Environment consultation paper, Fair Construction Contracts. This paper argues that the potential for success of the Latham Review is limited, not simply because of the recalcitrance of some of the particular interested groups, but due to the process of the review and the proposed institutional framework for implementation. The paper attempts to bring a conceptual framework to an analysis of the process of the Latham Review. Drawing upon the literature in the field of institutional development generally and, more particularly from experiences in the construction industries of developing countries, the policy initiatives and proposed institutional changes are clearly separated. The institutional arrangements (particularly the new Construction Industry Board) neither supplant, replace, nor control, the existing structures. The paper argues for the United Kingdom CIB to develop as an independent institution recognizably in pursuit of the common good.