BUILDERS in Bolton have given a mixed response to a new report which reveals that workloads have dipped for the first time in six years.

Latest findings from a survey by the Federation of Small Builders (FMB) also show that there is a skills shortage and that a record-breaking 88 per cent of builders anticipate that material prices will rise further in the next six months.

Keith Hinsley established his family business, Keith Hinsley and Sons, in 1980. He used to have a workforce of five but now it’s just him and his two sons.

“I certainly agree with what the report says about the skills shortage,” he said. “People are coming out of school now who just don’t want to work with their hands. I gave up trying to find apprentices, I couldn’t find anyone.

“On top of that there’s so much paperwork involved now with the apprentice scheme it’s just not worth it.

He added: “We’ve been busy enough this first quarter but I’m not planning on expanding.”

Jamie Powell, owner of Astley Bridge Building Services, is a joiner but primarily sub-contracts projects, mainly extensions.

His company bucks the trend of the quarterly dip highlighted in the report.

“It’s been the busiest quarter for some time,” he said. “In fact it’s been a good 12 months, I’ve been booked solid since last March.”

He attributes his business’s success to a particular trend he has noticed. “A lot more people are choosing to extend their properties rather than moving house,” he said.

The survey shows that almost three-quarters (71 per cent) of construction SMEs expect wages and salaries to increase over the next six months, up from 66 per cent in the previous quarter.

This is not something that is a big concern for Mr Powell, who said: “As a sub-contractor it means I don’t employ skilled workers like plasterers and plumbers full-time, so that helps.” Stuart Surples, of Stuart’s Builders said: “I’m not doing too bad but my profit margins aren’t as high as they could be because the price of building materials have gone through the roof.”

The FMB’s State of Trade Survey for Q1 2019 found that, overall, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs)have seen their workloads decline for the first time in six years as more respondents stated lower workloads (29 per cent) compared with the final three months of 2018 (13 per cent).

On a more positive note, expectations for the future have strengthened with 41 per cent of construction SMEs forecasting higher workloads over the coming three months, up from 33 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, said: “This dip follows three years of political uncertainty, which have taken their toll on the SME construction sector.

"We knew anecdotally that the first three months of this year had been less busy for many of our members and our latest research confirm this. A perfect storm of diminished consumer confidence, rising material prices and increases in wages and salaries has resulted in the construction SME sector detracting for the first time in six years.”

He added: “Consumers and businesses alike are understandably putting off large investment decisions while the never-ending Brexit negotiations rumble on.”

Mr Berry concluded: “The Government must do what it can to boost the economy during this time of political uncertainty and that’s why we’re calling for a reduction in VAT from 20 per cent to five per cent on all housing repair, maintenance and improvement (RM&I) work.

"Reducing VAT on RM&I work could boost the UK economy by more than £15bn over a five-year period, according to independent research by Experian.

“This reduction in VAT could also create more than 95,000 jobs and save 240k tonnes of carbon dioxide from thousands of homes. Such a VAT reduction has the backing of more than 60 charities, trade associations, business groups and financial firms as there is no other policy that would achieve so many of the Government’s economic, environmental and social aims with so little cost to the public purse. At a time of continued political uncertainty and a dip in construction output, a VAT reduction is exactly what the UK economy is crying out for.”