Award-winning civil engineering and construction contractor McPhillips said today’s budget fell short of the mark.
Director Stuart MacKenzie warned businesses had faced a nervous wait ahead of the announcement with leaked details and U-turns leading to a sharp decline in construction activity UK-wide.
He said: “Confidence across the sector has been knocked with so much speculation and unfortunately today’s announcements have not gone far enough to restore the stability we needed.
“The construction industry is impacted by almost every part of the economy so any measures which cause taxes to rise takes money out of the economy, puts pressure on businesses and will continue to stall growth.
“Changes to salary sacrifice and minimum wage rises on top of the already hefty National Insurance hike will cause a mammoth administrative headache for businesses and will bring additional costs at a time when they want to be focused on investing in skills, sustainability and CSR initiatives.
“We understand the Chancellor has faced some tough decisions to protect the NHS and curb the Government’s debts and we’re encouraged she made reference to speeding up the planning system but what we really need now is action.
“For too long we’ve heard plenty of promises on infrastructure investment and planning reforms. If we want to see growth in the economy and deliver on projects that will benefit and boost our communities then we need action that translates into a visible pipeline of work.
“The only good news we can take from today is the Chancellor’s commitment to skills and new measures on apprenticeships. As a company committed to training the next generation and a very successful apprenticeship scheme this will enable us to boost skills and training in-house.”
McPhillips directly employs 240 people and has delivered more than 140 projects as principal contractor with a value of £300million in the last five years from its Hortonwood headquarters.
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