Member News
13th June 2012Business secretary Vince Cable has emphasised the important role the construction industry can play in helping the economy out of its financial quagmire.
Cable acknowledged that "output" in the construction sector is currently "bouncing along the bottom", but as an employer of nearly three million people, it has a huge part to play in driving economic growth.
Drawing a comparison from history, at the Construction Products Association’s annual parliamentary reception, Cable spoke of how following the economic depression in the 1930s the economy was able to turn itself around on the back of construction and construction products, due to a boom in house building.
In the present day Cable said there are a number of ways in which the government is working to stimulate the construction industry.
The government has already taken steps to reform the planning system and published a National Infrastructure Plan, so the industry is aware of what future projects are forthcoming.
He also stressed that the country is about to see "the biggest era of rail building for many decades."
Shadow business minister Iain Wright also acknowledged the vital part that the construction products industry plays in stimulating the economy.
"You are the solution to the problem, not the problem itself", he said.
With a construction company in every parliamentary constituency, pointing to over 30,000 bases located throughout the country, it has a huge economic base.
The sheer economic strength of the construction industry was demonstrated by chairman of the Construction Products Association, Bill Bolsover, who revealed that for "every £1 put into construction, the industry creates £2.84".
He acknowledged that in the past such a large industry has struggled to communicate with a single voice and cohesive message, but it is something they are "working hard" to overcome.