CPA urges government to do more

In the face of the largest fall in construction output since early 2009 Michael Ankers of the Construction Products Association (CPA) has called on government to do more to help the construction industry.

GDP figures published in January show construction output as having fallen by 3.3 per cent in the final quarter of 2010, representing the largest single fall since the height of the recession in 2009. It comes as a bitter blow following two preceding quarters of relatively strong growth.

The CPA points out that although the poor weather in the last weeks of the year undoubtedly had an adverse impact, it fears that the hoped-for private sector housing recovery isn’t coming through strongly enough.

Chief executive Michael Ankers says, “The CPA forecasts that construction output will fall a further 2 per cent in 2011. This will inevitably hold back the pace of recovery in the wider economy. It is essential that the Government does more to encourage a private sector-led recovery by accelerating the measures it is taking to reduce the burdens on business, encouraging banks to make more money available for viable business investment, and implementing the measures it is committed to for improvement to the infrastructure of this country. It also needs to ensure that its broader policy objectives on localism help stimulate, rather than hinder, economic growth.”

UK manufacturers and suppliers to the construction industry have a combined annual turnover of £50bn and account for 40 per cent of total construction output.

 

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