Building Better, Building Beautiful is not just an issue for planning – procurement matters too. As everyone involved in housing development, contracting and procurement is all too well aware, the cost of non-compliance remains grievously high. As an architect, I have always had the greatest of respect for builders, not just the dexterity required for skilled trades but the mastery of programme, supply chain management and critical path so that everything required reaches the right place at the right time. But I cannot remember a time when relationships in the industry were more fraught. Housing especially has been strained with the combined impact of material cost inflation, shortage of skill trades for contractors, and with developers being pursued to make good for fire safety post-Grenfell.