Fiscal stimulus is failing to help industry, says consultant and engineering body

The government’s promised fiscal stimulus is failing to help the construction sector, the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) has warned the Bank of England.

In a meeting on Monday with Pauline Finlay, the bank’s deputy agent for the West Midlands and Oxfordshire, representatives from ACE’s regional groups said there was little sign of funding filtering down to ground level and called for urgent action to break the financial logjam.

Ian Parker, the ACE membership and regions director, said: “For many member firms the start of 2009 has been about fire-fighting. They have reached a point where a more constructive flow of funds is desperately needed.

“Such funds are crucial, not just for the large headline-making projects like Crossrail and the M25 widening programme, but also for the hundreds of SME firms who are practically living on a hand to mouth basis.”

Michael Hall, the ACE’s policy manager, added: “With the ongoing lack of lending to the construction sector and the banks still suffering, it’s evident that clear direction is needed, but also that here is a golden opportunity to get Britain building again.”