Construction needs senior Government steer as investment drives growth says NFB
Today’s ONS output figures for August 2013 for the construction industry point to welcome growth year on year of 4.0% but a decrease of 0.1% on last month.
When comparing August 2013 with August 2012 construction output increased by 4.0% predominantly due to a 5.5% increase in new work. Within the new work category, new housing increased by 16.7% while infrastructure fell by 5.5% when compared with August 2012. In August 2013, these sectors account for approximately 32% and 19% of all new work respectively.
Julia Evans, chief executive of the NFB, said: “Growth in construction output has been largely driven by housing. Growth in housing has in turn largely been driven by government intervention, which is not sustainable. The recent government reshuffle appears to be an indication that housing and construction are moving down the political agenda. Investment in housing and construction has been shown to deliver a high return for the entire economy on every taxpayer pound that is spent. What is needed at a time when investment is being made is an assurance that someone at a suitably high level is steering the investment to where it can best be spent.
“Investment, and a continued focus on enabling small and medium sized companies (SMEs) to have better access to finance and to public contracts so that they can play their full part in rejuvenating the industry and the economy, are crucial factors as we start seeing a recovery. The government downgrades this goal at its peril.”
