25 March 2013
A construction specialist believes George Osborne’s Budget will take too long to ‘kick-in’ to impact on short-term economic growth.
Julie White, the managing director of diamond drilling, concrete sawing and demolition specialist D-Drill, believes it will take several months – and maybe years – for the measures in the budget to make a telling difference to her industry and the economy as a whole.
Chancellor George Osborne announced a further £3 billion a year of Government spending on infrastructure projects – but that will not come into force until 2015.
White said: “The Chancellor introduced infrastructure spending in the Autumn statement and has added to it this time, but these announcements take a long time to filter down to the ground.
“Our industry has capacity and we need projects which are ready to go – and ready to go now, not in the distant future.
“It is clear, with his announcements on shared equity, that the Government is trying to stimulate both ends of the property chain and that is to be welcomed.
“If developers and house builders feel there is realistic demand, then they will build. That is what they do!
“The market has been stuck because people have not been able to get on the property ladder. Shared equity on new houses could make a difference, start to stimulate demand and we need to see that making a tangible difference on the ground and therefore create more jobs.”
White added that other measures in the budget announcement could help small businesses, many of them in the construction industry.
“Again, when we are in such straitened times, there is little room for manoeuvre, and this was a take with one hand and give with the other budget. It was largely neutral, and designed with a forthcoming election in mind.
“The National Insurance holiday for new employees along with the incentives for employee ownership of firms should be a help.
“Our fuel costs have gone up seven per cent in three months. This is a cost we cannot simply pass on to clients so we therefore welcome the scrapping of the planned autumn increase,” she said.
“Like all budgets, it will take time for the detail to come out but I think the call from our industry is that we know we can help stimulate the economy – but we need the projects to allow us to do that.”
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