The UK construction industry has taken a battering over recent months and the government must now offer its support to get the sector firing on all cylinders again, it has been argued.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians, said a failure to invest in construction could result in a faltering of the industry and this would have a detrimental impact on the UK economy as a whole - not a perfect situation given the ongoing austerity measures that have recently been announced.

He commented: "The cuts in the Building Schools for the Future project and in social housing investment show that the Con-Dem government has abandoned construction and the construction workers, at the time when support is most needed."

According to the Federation of Master Builders, construction workloads for small building companies continued to decline for the tenth consecutive quarter in Q2 2010.

However, there are signs that the continual fall in workloads may be nearing its end with a levelling off in the rate of decline for both residential and non-residential work.

Article courtesy of Aviva. Published 30-07-2010