Commenting in the Office for National Statistics’ latest Output in the Construction Industry report, Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist, said:

"The generally mild weather in the early part of this year should, if nothing else, have helped the construction industry. Looking forward, there are still significant challenges facing the sector, in particular, the dramatic cuts in the Government’s capital spending programme and the continuing difficulties in securing development finance. As a result, even if official numbers are currently understating the resilience of the sector, the recovery in construction output is likely to be particularly sluggish over the course of this year."

 ONS, Output in the Construction Industry, Q1 2011http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/oec0511.pdf