ABSTRACT
The decision of the Conservative Government to mount a ‘Joint Review of Procurement and Contractual Arrangements in the United Kingdom construction industry’, announced in the House of Commons on 5 July 1993 by the Under Secretary of State at the Department of the Environment, Tony Baldry MP, was a response to internal and external criticism of the industry over a long period. There was serious concern throughout the UK economy that the UK construction industry was not well placed to meet the challenges facing it from private and public clients, who looked to the industry to provide the construction infrastructure necessary for them to succeed in their business objectives. There was conjecture that the construction industry might follow the example of the British car, motorcycle, and white goods industries into foreign ownership.
