Construction industry 'has been abandoned'

The coalition government has left the construction industry struggling during a difficult time, according to the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT).

General secretary Alan Ritchie said the cuts made to construction work by Conservative and Liberal Democrat politicians could stall a recovery in the sector.

He pointed to reductions in spending on the Building Schools for the Future project and social housing as two big examples.

Such moves show that the government has "abandoned construction and construction workers at a time when support is most needed".

His comments come as figures from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) show that construction workloads for small businesses have fallen for ten consecutive quarters.

The group said the declines have affected both residential and non-residential work, preventing construction firms from taking on new staff.

Sic out of ten FMB members said they did not intend to make any staffing changes over the next six months as a result of the economic climate.