The Construction Leadership Council has pulled senior Whitehall figures into its boardroom in a governance shake-up designed to hard-wire the industry more tightly into Government decision-making.

The reset gives formal board seats to the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority and the Cabinet Office, embedding senior civil servants inside the body that helps steer construction strategy.

Becky Wood, CEO of NISTA, and Clare Gibbs, Director of Markets, Sourcing & Suppliers for the Cabinet Office, join the expanded board.

The move comes as ministers push ambitious targets on housing, infrastructure and clean energy.

Mark Reynolds, executive chair of Mace Group, remains CLC co-chair, but Richard Robinson is stepping down as deputy co-chair to focus on his role as regional president AMEA at AtkinsRéalis. A replacement process will follow.

The advisory group of leading industry luminaries created in 2022 has been stood down, with some members moving onto the main board and others exiting in the slimmed down structure.

Four new industry sector groups have been formed to align with the Government’s growth agenda particularly in the realm of housing and infrastructure.

Mark Farmer joins as industry sponsor for people and skills, while Karl Whiteman of Berkeley Group expands his brief to cover health, safety and wellbeing.

A refreshed CLC strategy and biennial report are due in March, setting out how the sector will align with plans for 1.5m new homes and 150 infrastructure project approvals before the end of the Parliament.