INFORMATION CENTRE

Government 'has abandoned construction industry at time of need' July 29, 2010

The recent government cuts to construction projects could stall a recovery, it has been claimed.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians, said that now is the time the sector needs support most.

"The cuts in the Building Schools for the Future project and in social housing investment show that the Con-Dem government has abandoned construction and the construction workers," he commented.

According to a recent report by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), construction workloads for small building companies continued to fall in the last three months - the tenth consecutive quarter to register a drop.

However, the rate of decline is levelling off for both residential and non-residential work.

And Mr Ritchie warned that people should take the figures with a pinch of salt as there has been conflicting evidence concerning recovery in the building industry recently.

The Office for National Statistics reported on July 23rd that the construction sector's output rose 6.6 per cent in the second quarter of the year.


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