The Scottish government’s claims that its new budget outline for 2013/14 would encourage growth have been dismissed as "out of touch with reality."

Michael Levack of the Scottish Building Federation (SBF) said: "To suggest that this budget or any budget at this time could be a budget for growth in the construction sector, I think suggests that they’re out of touch with reality."

The government’s spending plans for the coming year were unveiled by finance secretary John Swinney last Thursday and promised £180m for projects he claimed were a budget for "jobs and growth."

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But business chiefs have warned of an absence of "shovel ready" building projects being created by the Scottish Future’s Trust and have criticised "red tape" for strangling the Scottish economy.

Mr Levack warned many construction businesses were in "survival mode or at best recovery mode.

"We’ve got to get that message through because when we hear rhetoric from any political party to suggest otherwise quite frankly hurts people when they’ve lost their businesses", he said.

The SFT was established by the Scottish Government as a means to co-ordinate council, health-board and government spending on major building projects.

Mr Levack called Scotland’s public procurement system "constipated."

He said: "We must ensure that all projects that are there on the wish list on the Infrastructure Investment Plan, whether it be NPD or other, are actually coming to the market. Currently that isn’t the case."

(IT)