Next week, construction minister Nick Raynsford is expected to launch a massive consultation exercise to find ways to protect homeowners from the menace of cowboy builders.
精东影视's proposals, outlined in an article on 5 March, were to introduce:

  • Compulsory registration of builders before the carrying out of domestic work

  • A construction tsar to resolve complaints by the public and builders

  • A multimillion-pound advertising campaign.

    We then asked for your views. Opposite is an article by construction management lecturer Stephen Barthorpe, who also believes that only compulsion will work. Below is a selection of other contributions 鈥� some supporting our stance, others not. Please keep them coming.

    I was interested to discover that some of the recommendations of Tony Merricks' taskforce mirror some of the findings of a research project we completed last May. Our research included an extensive review of the literature and a survey of 40 senior movers and shakers representing contractors, their clients and the professional institutions.

    Construction is under attack from all sides. At one extreme, domestic repair and maintenance sector clients have suffered atrocious standards of workmanship and financial improbity from rampant, unregulated cowboy operators. At the other end of the scale, major clients have expressed dissatisfaction at the industry's under-performance in the key areas of quality, cost, safety and time.

    In mitigation, the industry has suffered at the hands of inexperienced and unscrupulous clients. The abysmal image of the domestic repair and maintenance sector has been perpetuated by people who unlawfully engage VAT-dodging operators. It could be argued that if the public wants "cash-in-hand" builders, it deserves the consequences.

    Sensational television documentaries fuel the perception that all builders are cowboys, but there is little evidence of a co-ordinated, pan-industry promotion of construction to counter this. Sectors within the industry and the plethora of umbrella organisations prefer to promote their own causes.

    Our survey revealed that the top priority must be a concerted, collaborative strategy to eliminate the unregulated cowboy sector and promote good construction.

    Our recommendations are:

    • Commission a working group of researchers to collate information about the industry's image and produce a report within nine months.

    • Assemble a group of senior representatives from the industry, its clients, its institutions, government and respected individuals from the marketing and public relations sectors. These will assimilate the working group's report and formulate recommendations.

      This group must be chaired and motivated by a dynamic individual.

    • Significantly raise the profile, resources and jurisdiction of the Construction Industry Board (with statutory powers if necessary) to enable it to implement and monitor the recommendations. The CIB should subsume existing organisations.

    • Implement a "zero tolerance" strategy towards unethical construction practices.

    • Make it a statutory requirement for all contractors to be registered and licensed. The licensing should be conditional on everyone achieving appropriate levels of qualification and experience. Sufficient attention to health and safety and a commitment to ethical codes of conduct should also be prerequisites for the licence. This would require a compulsory construction competency certification scheme, based on the current Construction Skills Certification Scheme but extended to include technical and professional levels.

    • Employ the Considerate Constructing Scheme's Code of Considerate Practice on all construction projects.

    • Promote construction as a homogeneous industry, particularly to young people, who are potential entrants.

    • Devise drastic measures to improve the image of the industry. An "image tsar" is needed to force the cowboys off the range.

    The construction industry is suffering from "initiative fatigue". Numerous reports have proposed similar recommendations but if these are not followed, then the next report will have to be called Condoning Cowboy Builders.

    From 鈥榶es, yes, yes鈥� to 鈥榶ou cannot be serious鈥�: A selection of your letters

    Sir: What needs to be done? Compulsory registration of builders 鈥� yes. Appoint a construction tsar 鈥� yes. Launch a multimillion-pound advertising campaign 鈥� yes. Ken Pigott, Sovereign Consultancy Services, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Sir: Proposals to protect the public from cowboy builders must be taken back to basics. Cowboys exist because the public does not always want to pay the full rate for the job. People do not seem to recognise that construction professionals exist, yet are only too eager to consult a solicitor if things do not go their way. They never think that, had an industry professional been consulted in the first place, there may have been no need to seek legal advice. So, what can be done about the plight of our industry? The register will not work. Most cowboys will know someone who can give them a trade reference and will be glad to pay a one-off payment or even an annual subscription. But who is going to ensure the work is done correctly? This is where the construction professional is needed. The government can also do its bit. How about insisting that all planning and 精东影视 Regulation applications are submitted by bona fide practices? How about increasing the number of visits made by building inspectors? The consumer must be made aware that professionals are there to help in the smooth running of building work. Alun Jones, chartered building surveyor,Mold, Flintshire. Sir: For years, I have been contacted by clients seeking redress after having work done by cowboys. Often, it is criminally poor. I think the ideas are good, particularly the reduction of VAT on repair and maintenance work 鈥� I hope it will cover fees. However, for every cowboy builder, there is a cowboy client. Mike Courtnage, chartered building surveyor, Adams Johns Kennard, Hastings, East Sussex. Sir: It has become clear to me that the public openly encourages cowboy builders by expecting something for nothing. Prospective clients do not ask if you are VAT-registered because they want the job done cheaply and to pay cash in hand. The way forward is for local authorities to give each business a registration number, to be displayed on all documentation and outside the site. To get the number, firms would have to produce their tax office ID, a public liability insurance policy and a certificate of registration with the Environment Agency. The insurance cover would be checked every year. A nominal fee could be paid to cover administration costs. A simple registration form would confirm the bona fides of the business and give aggrieved clients some comeback for poor workmanship. At the end of the day, those that do not have a registration number will not get the business. Colin Lamb, proprietor Home-Rite 2000, Bracknell, Berkshire. Sir: As an active and enthusiastic member of the cowboy builders working group, I must take exception to your headline 鈥淢erricks at loggerheads with cowboy taskforce鈥� (26 February). From the article, you might believe that the majority of the working group was not in favour of operative registration or a competent operative scheme. Nothing could be further from the truth: certainly those who represent the professionals and consumer interest groups believe that registration is a key element in the success of any scheme. The inference that chairman Tony Merricks is not listening to his group is a total misrepresentation. It is my understanding that the purpose of the working group is to investigate and report on as many options as possible; and that this report would form the basis of a consultation document. This document should take the views of all parties into account, with the object of creating ownership of the final proposals. In order to overcome that, there would be a two-stage process allowing adequate consultation with interested parties. It is quite right that all the views held by members of the working group should be publicised to gauge industry and consumer reaction. The consultation document is a forum for debate, but the press coverage of its release has only served to cause unnecessary confusion. Can we now move forward, combine our efforts and aim our criticisms at the real enemy - the cowboy and rogue trader? Chris Shuttleworth, past president of the Institute of 精东影视 Control, Clitheroe, Lancashire. Sir: Surely you cannot be serious about the builders鈥� bum campaign. The industry must raise its profile as an employer of well-trained professionals. Encouraging young people to come into the industry at all levels and building customer confidence must be the top priority over the coming years. The proposed advertisement fuels all the prejudices and does absolutely nothing to address the issue. Geoff Potton, managing director, Miller Homes, Edinburgh.