On first analysis, it looks as though capital spending has borne the brunt of the cuts to next year’s Scottish budget announced in the UK spending review.

But the true impact of these cuts on the Scottish construction sector will only become clear once the Scottish government has determined how to spread the pain.

With most politicians focused on protecting frontline services, there’s no doubt that investment in affordable housing and core infrastructure is extremely vulnerable. Our politicians must be warned that failure to maintain capital investment will seriously hamper Scotland’s economic recovery.

Without further private sector stimulus, there will be little to cushion the construction industry against these cuts and little to suggest anything other than a significant backslide in building output, capacity and employment for some time to come.

Michael Levack, chief executive, Scottish Building Federation

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