The Scottish Building Federation (SBF) has said its own statistics concur with those released by the Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC).

The latest SCC report showed the Scottish economy weakened more than expected during last summer.

SBF Chief Executive Michael Levack said: "The results of the latest economic survey from the Scottish Chambers of Commerce chime with our most recent survey of SBF members. This shows industry confidence continuing to slide backwards, down 34 points in the past year."

The SCC results showed Scottish business have lowered their expectations with regard to economic recovery over the next nine months.

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Mr Levack continued: "In this challenging economic climate, we will continue to plead the case for more capital investment. I recognise the efforts Scottish ministers are making in the face of tough budgetary constraints. But there’s no escaping the fact that the Scottish Government is due to spend £2.2bn less on capital projects over the next three years than it has over the past three. That’s a reduction of 23%."

He added: "At a time when there are still few signs of life in the private sector, we must strain every sinew to commit more public resources towards building the infrastructure our economy needs to recover. Meanwhile, too much unnecessary cost and bureaucracy remains built into the system for awarding public sector construction contracts in Scotland. There is an urgent need to overhaul public procurement to make it fit for purpose and get the industry building again."

(IT)