Delivering excellent public works is critical for the government to deliver the public services that we all rely on. Up to £37 billion of contracts across economic and social infrastructure will be brought to market over the next year, and to meet this ambition we need to change our approach to delivery.

From building schools, hospitals and prisons, to major infrastructure and the wide range of construction, engineering and other works projects and programmes undertaken by the public sector, we are committed to delivering better, faster and greener solutions that support our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and build the economy of the future while improving building and workplace safety.

The construction sector is key to the UK economy. It contributed £117 billion to the UK economy in 2018 and supports over two million jobs. We will continue to strive for a world-class sector - improving productivity in construction safely, delivering skilled jobs across the country to level-up the economy and achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

This vision will only be achieved by working together and setting out clear requirements to reform the industry. Government leadership is crucial and we need to align our efforts with the sector to ensure actions are consistent and reinforcing.

The Construction Playbook is the result of extensive collaboration from across the public and private sectors to bring together expertise and best practices. It builds on the recently published National Infrastructure Strategy and supports the government's ambition to transform our infrastructure networks over the next decade and beyond so we can build back better, faster and greener.

I am grateful to all those who contributed and I am delighted to support the Construction Playbook.

Chief Operating Officer for the
Civil Service and Permanent Secretary
for the Cabinet Office