A statement to industry from Keith Waller, Construction Innovation Hub
With the current global crisis surrounding COVID-19, we know that society is facing unprecedented and uncertain times ahead. Ultimately, this is likely to have a significant impact on the construction sector and consequently many of the communities we live and work in. The Construction Innovation Hub is working closely with government and the leading sector trade bodies to do all we can to provide stability to the industry.
As the Construction Innovation Hub, we truly believe that by working collaboratively, we can increase sector resilience and face this challenge together. It’s our goal to be as transparent and proactive as possible through these difficult times, as we continue the delivery of our programme.
We continue to work alongside the Construction Leadership Council, the leading sector trade bodies and government to help ensure that the UK economy is resilient in the face of this complex situation.
As the landscape continues to evolve at a pace, we would like to encourage you to find the latest updates through our partner websites, as detailed below:
Our industry partner Build UK have created a dedicated online resource to provide accessible industry information and guidance. Over the coming days this will continue to be populated, please check back regularly for further updates: www.builduk.org/coronavirus.
Furthermore, in addition to contractors, many of the strategic partners we are working with are engineering and technical consultants – both large and small. The Association of Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) have produced guidance that provides specific advice through a consultancy lens. This is updated daily and can be accessed at www.acenet.co.uk/news/ace-news/coronavirus-what-you-need-to-know/
Internally, we have already adapted our working practices to ensure we can continue to collaborate and minimise disruption to our programme. Over recent weeks we have prepared our teams for remote working and have a suite of digital tools to enable us to stay connected with all our stakeholders.
Finally, we know that COVID-19 is likely to have a deep impact on our sector, however by facing this challenge collectively, we have confidence that the construction industry will emerge as a more robust and connected sector on the other side. We continue to remain absolutely committed to enabling cross-sector dialogue and the delivery of a programme that reflects industry needs.
We wish good health for all of you at this time.
Yours sincerely,
Keith Waller
Programme Director
Construction Innovation Hub