UCATT have described the Chancellor’s announcement of creating a £250 million shared equity scheme for homebuyers, as a missed opportunity to kick-start the construction industry.

UCATT believe that if the Government were serious about helping unemployed construction workers back into work and restoring confidence in the industry, the funding would have been better invested in building new social housing for rent. This would have better guaranteed increased job opportunities. New social housing developments could also have included the requirement for companies to undertake compulsory apprentice training.

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A UCATT spokesperson, said: "While the priority must be to kick-start the construction industry and create jobs, funding would have been better spent on social housing, where there is a chronic need for new homes. By concentrating on the private sector the Government is repeating the problem of overheating the property market, which then crashes and damages the economy."

UCATT have also raised concerns about the proposed long-term merger of income tax and national insurance contributions. There are concerns that if this is not very carefully policed, unscrupulous employers could use the changes to force workers into false self-employment, in the knowledge that they would no longer face sanctions from HMRC.

(CD)