Stephen Ratcliffe, chief executive of the Construction Confederation, suggests that my article on the ailing CSCS scheme amounts to an outlandish conspiracy theory (20 May, page 17).

I have a lot of respect for Stephen and the way he has managed to hold the confederation together, but not if he resorts to the political expedient of discrediting the questioner to avoid answering the question.

  • The CSCS is by definition a photo identity card scheme. It keeps a register of individuals鈥� names, addresses, qualifications and employers, and has a photo of the holder on the card. The intention is to restrict working in the construction industry to those on the register or some unspecified alternative.
  • The CSCS duplicates the work of many well-established registers and by encouraging direct membership through (what are seen as) lower standards of entry, it demeans those institutions and their properly qualified members. That is why so few of our traditionally trained managers and craftspeople have registered with CSCS 鈥� because they can see through the spin.
  • It is quite true to say that the government 鈥� and unions 鈥� have 鈥減ersuaded鈥� the CSCS promoters to push the scheme. The pressure from every government department, quango and associated supervisors鈥� organisation is there for all to see.

I am all for a workforce that is fully qualified in safety, craft skills and all aspects of construction management but that does not have to be through yet another ineffective regulatory body that adds unnecessary costs and regulation to the real construction industry.

This is not what I call a conspiracy theory, but a valid comment on a struggling government-supported initiative. I have a feeling that it is more about maintaining employment in the employer regulation business than improving construction鈥檚 skill base.

What would be helpful is an old-fashioned unequivocal denial from Stephen that the CSCS register has been accessed by the national database.

Colin Harding, chairman, George & Harding

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