The CICV Forum has welcomed a new member to its ranks and also set up a specialist sub-group to gather and share expertise from some of Scotland’s leading consultants.

Trade association DHF has become the latest organisation to become a full-time member, while the creation of a new Consultants sub-group has seen 12 professional bodies swell the collective’s ever-growing roster of experts.

Their arrival means the Forum now has 25 full member bodies from across Scotland and beyond – including Government agencies, private companies and professional services – plus eight sub-groups receiving input from more than 40 separate organisations.

Forum Chair and SELECT Managing Director Alan Wilson, said: “We are delighted to welcome both DHF as our latest full member and the 12 bodies who make up the new Consultants sub-group.

“Now that restart is under way in earnest, cooperation and collaboration is more vital than ever, so we appreciate the knowledge and expertise that these new Forum contributors bring.

“Each new member brings new strengths and we greatly appreciate the knowledge and insight we know they will deliver as part of our ongoing efforts.”

As a not-for-profit trade association, DHF represents companies associated with locks and building hardware, doorsets, industrial doors and shutters, domestic garage doors and automated gates.

Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens, Head of Commercial Operations at DHF, said: “The Forum gives the industry an invaluable opportunity to discuss the issues we all face and decide how restart can be managed safely for both contractors and consumers.

“We are proud to contribute our voice to and help make our contribution to a remarkable joint initiative that has already made such a positive mark on the construction sector.”

The new Consultants sub-group is made up of representatives from leading industry bodies Atelier Ten, Currie & Brown, David Narro Associates, Gardiner & Theobald, Hardies, JM Architects, Keppie Design, Page\Park, Reiach & Hall, Turner & Townsend, Will Rudd Davidson, and Woolgar Hunter.

The sub-group is chaired by David Logue, Partner and Board Member of Gardiner & Theobald, who said: “We are grateful to have been given this opportunity to listen and offer assistance where it is needed to help reshape the sector during restart and recovery.

“The Forum has been the perfect example of how the industry can come together and work towards a common goal, and we look forward to contributing to its ongoing success.”

The latest developments follow the arrival of Association for Project Safety (APS) and Single Ply Roofing Association (SPRA), who both joined the Forum as full members in June.

Since its creation in mid-March, the Forum has been at the vanguard of the battle to save the construction sector in Scotland, distributing information and becoming the first port of call for clarity of advice.

Its latest initiatives include the release of an animation about returning to work safely and a free downloadable restart pack containing posters, checklists and fact sheets advising how to manage the restart while keeping staff safe.

It also recently provided health and safety underpinning guidance, furloughing information for employers, a consultation about the future of the industry in Scotland and vital advice for apprentices and staff preparing to return to college. The Forum has also carried out a series of surveys, hosted popular webinars on health and safety, financial and employment issues, and maintained regular dialogue with the Scottish Government to help ensure a safe return to work across the sector