The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has called for a Queen's Speech that will help, not hinder the construction industry on the State Opening of Parliament.

The construction industry has been particularly badly hit as a result of the credit crunch and the down turn in the housing market. The industry is facing its biggest challenge for many years. The indicators are that many will struggle to survive in the current market, with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) predicting the loss of more than 300,000 jobs within the industry and with 41% of SME builders warning that they will be making staff redundant over the coming months.

There is currently a crisis in the housing market with many first time buyers unable to get a mortgage let alone afford a first home. Alongside this there are more than 90,000 families living in temporary accommodation and 1.6 million families on council house waiting lists; the case for building new homes is therefore very clear. However, house building is at its lowest level since 1945.

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Brian Berry, Director of External Affairs at the Federation of Master Builders said: "The construction industry is always one of the first sectors to suffer at times of economic difficulty and also one of the last to recover. We know that when recession last hit, 500,000 people were made redundant in our industry, it is imperative that this is not allowed to happen again.

"The efficient operation and competitiveness of the construction industry is essential to the fulfilment of the Government's commitment to improve public services and infrastructure. The delivery of new schools, hospitals, affordable housing and eco-homes, all depend on the success of the construction sector to deliver. The Government says it wants to help the construction industry, but restrains it by constantly introducing new regulations or changing the existing ones, thus increasing the size and complexity of business obligations. This drains business resources, disproportionately impacts on SMEs and increases the competitive advantage of the informal economy. All of this impacts on the overall competitiveness of the construction sector. We therefore call on the Government to use this year’s Queen’s Speech as an opportunity to treat legislation as a last resort, not a first option, and to focus instead on simplifying the existing regulatory burden."

(CD)