Public-sector work will keep us going

Apr 24 2009 by Chris Knox, The Journal

THE latest projections that construction is facing a 12% fall in output – the worst drop on record – are perhaps no surprise.

The forecasts by the Construction Products Association says 2009 started with the steepest decline in output since 1980, and in orders since 1983 and they do not suggest positive growth until 2012.

It isn’t that long since the talk was that we should be relying on the public sector to keep construction afloat, but we have seen in recent weeks that major holes are starting to appear in that plan.

Sir Andrew Foster led an independent review into the stalled colleges programme and his report estimates that it could cost £16bn to finish the outstanding 45% of work.

He has slated the Learning and Skills Council, the body assigned the task of overseeing the further education college building programme, which has placed 144 schemes on hold after exceeding its own £2.3bn budget by 150%.

This is exactly the type of public-funded programme our industry needs to keep going. While private contracts are few and far between, and becoming increasingly less profitable, and fees go down and material costs go up, public funds can go a long way.

Whether it is with public buildings such as these colleges, repairs and maintenance to town halls or highways works, now is the time to bring such projects forward to keep people in jobs and companies afloat.

Ok, so we could probably all argue that we have too many roadworks to contend with on our daily route as it is, but isn’t it better that we have a daily commute than a daily trawl through the jobs sites on the internet?

The Government keeps pumping money into the banks and the financial system and yes, such support has its place.

However, wouldn’t supporting our industry by financing jobs which will need doing anyway have a huge impact on not only our industry’s financial position, but also the infrastructure of our country?

For more information on Constructing Excellence in the North East, please contact chief executive, Catriona Lingwood, on (0191) 383-7435; catriona@constructingexcellence-ne. org.uk

Catriona Lingwood is chief executive, Constructing Excellence in the North East