The Construction Leadership Council has set out four priorities to deliver a better UK construction sector in 2022. The Council has picked issues where there is the greatest need for collaborative industry action, and the greatest opportunity to deliver positive change. The four priorities for 2022 are:

• Net Zero Carbon
• Building Safety
• Meeting the Skills Challenge
• Implementing the Construction Playbook

The announcement of the four priority areas comes as the CLC publishes its Annual Review for 2021.

Having established itself as the leading force for the industry in 2020 with its response to COVID-19, in 2021 the CLC built on this success. It led UK construction’s work ahead of the COP26 climate change summit with CO2nstructZero, while also responding promptly to the emerging threat of materials shortages to improve product availability nationwide. It launched a single hub for all new entrant jobs – TalentView Construction – while setting out the first ever Skills Plan for the whole UK construction industry.

Among its objectives this year it is targeting apprenticeships, aiming to return numbers to pre-COVID levels to meet future skills needs. It will publish quarterly data to show the sector’s journey to zero carbon. On Building Safety, it will work with partners to roll out frameworks to ensure that those working on buildings have the competence to build and maintain them safely. And it will continue its work to promote the Government’s Construction Playbook, boosting awareness and implementation among clients and suppliers.

CLC co-chair Andy Mitchell CBE says: “Having lit the spark in 2020, and watched it grow last year, the CLC can deliver transformational change for UK construction in 2022. We know that some of the threats facing our sector are daunting, but we are now working together as a sector, talking on challenges with a united approach. I hope that when we come to write our Annual Review for 2022 the whole sector will be able to judge us by our successes in delivering real change.”

CLC co-chair and Construction Minister Lee Rowley MP said: “During 2021, the industry demonstrated its ability to adapt to manage the ongoing challenge of COVID-19, and also its willingness to improve, and to start to tackle the need to transform the sector so it can consistently deliver better-performing, safer and more sustainable buildings and infrastructure.

“However, we can’t rest on our laurels. We will continue to face challenges during 2022. Only by working together collectively, will we continue to meet these challenges, and truly build back better, faster and greener for future generations.”

A copy of the CLC Annual Review can be found here.