A survey of 701 construction professionals, carried out by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), has found that 49% of respondents consider corruption to be either "extremely common" or "fairly common" within the UK construction industry. In addition to finding out whether corruption is perceived to be a problem within the UK construction industry, the survey was designed to investigate precisely which types of activity are seen as being corrupt and which stages of the construction process are potentially most susceptible to corruption. Over a third of respondents believed that the pre-qualification and tendering phase is the most at risk.
Other findings included more than one in three admitting they had been offered a bribe or incentive on at least one occasion. Over 38% had come across cartel activity in the UK construction industry at least once and of those, 29% have witnessed it over 12 months leading up to the survey.
The CIOB concludes that measures aimed at tackling corruption, such as the Bribery Act, appear to have had a limited effect, with no prosecutions against businesses taking place. Please click here for the link to the survey.
