‘Buying for Life, Construction in the Public Sector’

On 28 March 2006, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, Minister for Health and Safety, chaired an event in London calling on the public sector to become exemplary clients in all aspects of its construction procurement, including health and safety.

The invited audience was composed of key opinion formers, three quarters of whom were public sector construction clients. The remainder of the audience was comprised of Chairman/Chief Executive Officers of construction companies that undertake a significant amount of their work with public sector clients.

The event, ‘Buying For Life - Construction in the Public Sector’, provided an opportunity for John Hutton, Secretary of State at Department of Work and Pensions; Des Browne, then Chief Secretary to the Treasury; Alun Michael, Minister for Construction and representatives from industry to showcase and disseminate best health and safety practice and for government to review improvements it has made in carrying out its responsibilities as a client. Bill Callaghan, Chair of the Health and Safety Commission, summed up the event, challenging the delegates to commit to further action.

HSE held a public sector clients’ workshop on 30 November 2006 when Lord Hunt (then Minister for Health and Safety) invited key public sector clients to hear preliminary findings from research into integrating health and safety within public sector construction procurement. The outcomes and discussions from that workshop, the full research report (to be published 2007) and discussions with other government departments will form the basis for future Buying for Life work.