Chief Construction Adviser to UK Government

Short description: British civil service appointment

The role of Chief Construction Adviser is a British civil service appointment. It was created by United Kingdom ministers in 2009 to provide cross-departmental coordination and leadership on UK construction industry policy, and discontinued in 2015. In 2024, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommended resurrecting the role, and, in early 2025, the Government began the process of appointing a new adviser with an interim adviser, architect Thouria Istephan, announced in October 2025.

## History

The "creation of a post of Chief Construction Officer" was recommended by the House of Commons Business and Enterprise Select Committee in July 2008.[1] The UK government directly or indirectly provides around 40% of the construction industry's workload so its influence as a client is significant.

Paul Morrell was the first person appointed to this pan-departmental role, with a slightly revised title of 'chief construction adviser', in November 2009; the role was initially for two years, and Morrell was re-appointed for a further one-year term in October 2011.[2]

In July 2012, Morrell's successor, Peter Hansford, was announced.[3] Hansford took up the role on 1 December 2012. On 2 July 2014, construction minister Michael Fallon announced that Hansford's term of office would be extended to November 2015.[4][5]

To the dismay of many in the industry,[6] in July 2015, the Conservative Government announced that "the role of the Chief Construction Adviser will not be continued after the incumbent Peter Hansford’s tenure ends in November 2015."[7]

In September 2024, the final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommended bringing back the role of chief construction adviser to provide advice "on all matters affecting the construction industry", including monitoring government work relating to building regulations and statutory guidance. The adviser would also alert the secretary of state to construction issues about which the government should be aware.[8] Former adviser Paul Morrell ruled himself out, and said there was a "very limited" pool of candidates fit for the role, largely because their commercial interests might exclude them.[9] In February 2025, as part of its response to the Grenfell Inquiry's final report, the government was set to start the process of appointing a new chief construction adviser, likely to work in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).[10]

In May 2025, it announced that an interim chief construction adviser would be appointed in the summer of 2025, with a permanent successor likely to be appointed in 2026.[11] On 1 October 2025, MHCLG announced the interim appointment of Thouria Istephan, once an architect at Foster and Partners and a member of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry panel. Istephan was appointed for an interim 12-month term and on a part-time basis.[12][13]

## References

1. ↑ Construction Matters, Ninth Report of Session 2007–08 (accessed: 3 March 2012)
2. ↑ Paul Morrell has been re-appointed as the Government’s chief construction adviser by Business Minister Mark Prisk (accessed: 3 March 2012)
3. ↑ ((Department for Business, Innovation and Skills)). "Government names new Chief Construction Adviser". Wiredgov.net. http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/0/F72D6392EA0FC12080257A4B00423D61?OpenDocument.
4. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Tom (2 July 2014). "Peter Hansford to remain as construction adviser until November 2015". Construction News. https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/news/knowledge-news/chief-construction-adviser-role-extended-to-2015-02-07-2014/.
5. ↑ Hayman, Allister (2 July 2014). "Government hands Hansford an extra year in post". Building. http://www.building.co.uk/news/government-hands-hansford-an-extra-year-in-post/5069537.article.
6. ↑ Gardiner, Joey (23 July 2015). "Sector fears for industrial strategy after board shake-up". Building. http://www.building.co.uk/news/sector-fears-for-industrial-strategy-after-board-shake-up/5076640.article.
7. ↑ "Government welcomes new Construction Leadership Council". https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-welcomes-new-construction-leadership-council.
8. ↑ Lago, Cristina (4 September 2024). "Grenfell Inquiry calls for new chief construction adviser". Construction Management. https://constructionmanagement.co.uk/grenfell-inquiry-calls-for-new-chief-construction-adviser/?utm_medium=email.
9. ↑ Lago, Cristina (9 September 2024). "Grenfell Inquiry: ‘Limited’ pool of candidates for chief construction adviser role". Construction Management. https://constructionmanagement.co.uk/grenfell-inquiry-limited-pool-of-candidates-for-chief-construction-adviser-role/?utm_medium=email.
10. ↑ Lowe, Tom (27 February 2025). "Recruitment process for chief construction advisor to start ‘shortly’". Building. https://www.building.co.uk/news/recruitment-process-for-chief-construction-advisor-to-start-shortly/5134630.article.
11. ↑ Lago, Cristina (29 May 2025). "Government to appoint interim chief construction adviser this summer". Construction Management. https://constructionmanagement.co.uk/government-to-appoint-interim-chief-construction-adviser-this-summer/.
12. ↑ "Ministry names new construction adviser". The Construction Index. 1 October 2025. https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/ministry-names-new-construction-adviser.
13. ↑ Prior, Grant (1 October 2025). "Architect appointed interim Chief Construction Adviser". Construction Enquirer. https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2025/10/01/architect-appointed-interim-chief-construction-adviser/.

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