April 22 2020

The full impact of a nationwide construction shutdown is beginning to become apparent with new figures compiled by the Scottish Building Federation indicating that 95% of firms have furloughed 80% of staff.

The trade body reports that 76% of its members have seen cash flow dry up completely, prompting calls for the UK and Scottish governments to step up to the plate by offering similar support to that offered to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.

Highlighting the scale of the problem just 36% of SBF members indicated that they were eligible for a £10k grant issued via the Small Business Bonus Scheme and Rural rate Relief, despite 98% of sites being shutdown in compliance with government directives.

Vaughan Hart, SBF managing director, said: “Other heavily-impacted sectors which were initially advised to close have rightly received significant support and other industries have now received bespoke support packages from the Scottish Government. Construction seems to have been forgotten despite being one of the most crucial sectors to the Scottish economy.”

“Our sector employs over 170,000 people and is 10% of the Scottish economy but many of our members are struggling. They urgently need specific support from the government if they are to survive the current crisis and be in a position to help rebuild the Scottish economy when it ends.”

The SBF points out that its members have no means of generating revenue while sites remain shuttered and even when sites do reopen payments will not be received for a further two months until work is completed.

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