Posted By peter gotch Peter This isn't a case of more confusion. It was flagged up by John Prescott and other ministers as the Government position three years ago at Revitalising Construction conference, and has been pushed hard since by eg Highways Agency. Took about 10 years for key stakeholders eg Office of Government Commerce and Major Contractors Group to agree on the way forward ie CSCS or any of the numberous affiliated schemes. See eg initiatives such as "Respect for People", easily downloadable from Internet. Regards, Peter

Posted By peter gotch Robert Are you sure these other schemes are not those affiliated to CSCS, eg SCORE. http://www.ogc.gov.uk/em...object.asp?docid=1001421 comments: The purpose of this Information Note is to draw to the attention of government construction clients the need to require supplier companies to demonstrate, as a matter of good practice, that all those working on their sites have a proven level of competence (knowledge, skills, and experience), including health and safety. Evidence of appropriate skills is available on accredited schemes such as the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS). This scheme, and its affiliates, assures clients that certificate holders’ skills have been validated against national standards and that they have the necessary skills to work competently and safely on site. The proportion of operatives fully qualified and registered with CSCS within a company is part of the data recorded on Constructionline, which is owned by the Department of Trade and Industry and is the largest register of pre-qualified construction contractors and consultants. Its use is free of charge to all public sector procurers. Action Departments are strongly recommended to support this or an equivalent scheme. The aim should be to have 100% of supply teams using staff registered with the CSCS (or an equivalent) or who can otherwise demonstrate an equivalent standard as soon as possible and then to make it a condition in construction contracts. This should be applied to all new build and refurbishment construction projects as well as to maintenance and repair. OGC will audit Govt Departments on this issue in line with policy set out in "Achieving excellence guide 10" http://www.ogc.gov.uk/sd...rence/achieving/ae10.pdf Regards, Peter