The government used to call for the constructed industry to speak with one voice - or at least fewer voices. But at this year\'s annual dinner of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) it was the industry calling on the government to get its act together.

Geoff Wright, the CIOB President and director of Hammerson UK Properties, said the government should form a single Department for the Built Environment.

He was speaking at the dinner in the Guildhall, London, in February, in front of an audience that included principal guest speaker John Gummer MP, a former Conservative Secretary of State for the Environment.

Geoff Wright said: "The government is the largest client of the industry, creating 40% of demand. When our guest speaker, John Gummer, was Secretary of State for the Environment the majority of construction and the built environment were within his single department with a Minister of State supported by Junior Ministers.

"Today we have a junior minister from the DTI who shares his duties with that of Energy & Small Business and the remainder of construction is spread among a total of 13 different government departments."The government must reverse their fragmented recognition of the industry. We need a single Department for the Built Environment. After all, as the biggest customer they have most to gain from a focused approach and that must be in the public interest."

Graham Watts, chief executive of the Construction Industry Council, echoed this message. "We are fortunate to still have a few valiant and hard-working individuals rooting for the industry in Whitehall but their abilities are effectively buried under the dead weight of the DTI.

"Our problem is that now we need to hire the Albert Hall in order to reach all the scattered parts of Government that impact upon our industry."The impending general election is an opportunity to put things right. There is a chance to create a single department, led by a cabinet minister who has the time and the inclination to get out and speak to the industry; a Department which will join together the responsibilities for sponsoring the various elements of designing, constructing, managing and maintaining the built environment."