Warning comes as Labour prepares to meet for annual conference in Liverpool
As the Labour party prepares for its annual conference this weekend, the government has not done enough to boost confidence in the sector, a new report from Gleeds has said.
Labour will meet in Liverpool with the government lagging in the polls and worries growing about the impact of the upcoming autumn Budget.
In its latest quarterly report, Gleeds said that less than half of those questioned felt positive about the future of the sector.
“The figure shows a drop in confidence when compared to the 70% who believed the industry was a priority for the Labour party when it was elected last year,” it added. “Progress has been slow and a lack of clear direction has left many feeling frustrated.”
Gleeds’ UK managing director Brian McArdle added: “Opportunities do exist in public housing, healthcare, education, infrastructure and commercial - success will depend on converting government spending commitments in these areas into real project delivery.”
It also said that 45% had refused a tender in the past three months, which was down from the 80% figure this time last year.
But Gleeds said insolvencies remain a major concern, adding that specialists were most vulnerable and “significant distress” levels remain elevated across the sector.
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The report added that 25% of those questioned said their schemes had been held up by the Building Safety Regulator process – down from 37% the previous quarter with the fall put down to the series of recent announcements to speed up the sign-off process.
But Gleeds added: “Some noted that the process is still having a significant impact on residential schemes in the capital in particular.”
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