Scottish Building Federation Chief Executive Michael Levack has said the latest GDP figures published today by the Office of National Statistics make for grim reading – particularly for the construction sector.

Confirming that the UK economy as a whole has slid back into recession, the figures showed that construction had seen a sharp decline of -3.0%.

Mr Levack said: "The sharp fall in construction output in today’s ONS statistics makes for grim reading.

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"However, it comes as no surprise to SBF, confirming what our members are telling us about the situation on the ground across Scotland. We fear this recession period may be with us for some time to come.

"The Scottish building industry has shed more than 40,000 jobs in the last five years, with some areas losing up to 45% of their construction workforce. This is catastrophic for individuals, communities and an industry that generates around 10% of Scotland’s GDP.

"These figures make the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s decision not to respond to the request of the Scottish Government to accelerate £300m of ‘shovel-ready’ capital infrastructure projects in Scotland look even more short-sighted.

"Unless further urgent action is taken to boost capital investment, we will see further painful contractions in the sector’s output – and further job losses."

(GK)