{"id":74895,"date":"2020-04-16T08:30:08","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T07:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=74895"},"modified":"2020-04-16T08:30:08","modified_gmt":"2020-04-16T07:30:08","slug":"scottish-construction-covid19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/scottish-construction-covid19\/74895\/","title":{"rendered":"Scottish construction companies \u2018hit hard\u2019 as cashflow \u2018dries up\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Cashflow has dried up for nearly 80% of firms in the construction industry in Scotland, as more than two-thirds of companies say they\u2019ve furloughed staff, according to a new survey<\/h2>\n<p>Cashflow has completely dried up for nearly 80% of firms in the construction industry in Scotland, according to businesses which responded to a survey carried out by the newly-established <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cicvforum.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Construction Industry Coronavirus (CICV) Forum<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>More than half of companies who took part in the new poll also say they\u2019re owed vital monies from public and private sector clients, with invoices now overdue.<\/p>\n<p>As a consequence of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/covid-19-construction-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">coronavirus pandemic<\/a>, more than two-thirds of all companies who took part in the survey say they\u2019ve furloughed staff, over a third are shut completely, while more than a quarter currently have staff and subcontractors in self-isolation.<\/p>\n<p>The effect of the COVID-19 crisis and the recent Scottish Government instruction for all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/scotland-construction-sites\/74555\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">non-essential work to cease<\/a> is revealed in the survey, which was carried out on behalf of the CICV Forum.<\/p>\n<p>The survey analysed responses from 377 construction companies across Scotland, ranging from electricians, builders and plumbers to surveyors, architects, roofers and joiners.<\/p>\n<h3>Among its findings, the poll revealed that:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>78.92% of respondents, or 262 firms, said cashflow has stopped.<\/li>\n<li>67.74% of respondents, or 231 firms, have furloughed staff.<\/li>\n<li>36.53% of firms are now closed, while 54.13% are carrying out emergency<br \/>\nwork only.<\/li>\n<li>56.10% of firms have overdue invoices that were sent directly to public sector clients.<\/li>\n<li>55.42% of firms have overdue invoices that were sent directly to private sector clients.<\/li>\n<li>26.39% of firms have staff and subcontractors who are currently self-isolating.<\/li>\n<li>33.13% of firms say they are finding it difficult to source appropriate materials.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Construction industry in Scotland \u2018hit hard\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>John McKinney, secretary of forum members the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfrc.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">National Federation of Roofing Contractors<\/a> (NFRC), the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stonefed.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stone Federation<\/a> and the Scottish Contractors Group, said: \u201cThese disturbing results illustrate very clearly that the construction sector in Scotland is being hard hit, despite the measures that have been put in place to alleviate the pain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is clearly incumbent on all branches of government and public bodies to step up efforts to expedite payments under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/hr-skills-news\/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-2\/73823\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme<\/a> announced by the chancellor in March. However, there is a danger that even this may be too late for many firms, especially smaller enterprises.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe same urgency is required for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/apply-for-the-coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-scheme\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme<\/a>, which needs to be fast-tracked. Nearly half of companies which have applied have found the process cumbersome and difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Survey responses<\/h3>\n<p>The online survey also gathered feedback from respondents, who painted an increasingly bleak picture of the current construction landscape.<\/p>\n<p>One respondent said: \u201cCashflow is a major concern; we will only last a maximum of six weeks if government funding or bank loans don\u2019t come through. We will then have to start making staff redundant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another contractor voiced his frustration at those businesses still ignoring the lockdown, saying: \u201cI\u2019d like to see a clampdown across the whole industry, with penalties enforced on those flouting government instructions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Respondents also called for better information from the UK and Scottish Governments, with requests for greater clarity over both what work can be carried out and the financial and commercial implications of the virus.<\/p>\n<p>One contractor said: \u201cWhat about when it\u2019s all over \u2013 how heavily are we going to be penalised financially through tax and VAT? The mixed messages from both governments have made things very difficult to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Fast-tracking financial support \u2018will be crucial\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>Fiona Hodgson, chief executive of forum member the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snipef.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers\u2019 Federation <\/a>(SNIPEF)<strong>,<\/strong> echoed the industry\u2019s frustrations.<\/p>\n<p>Hodgson, said: \u201cSmall construction sector companies are taking the brunt of the shutdown at the moment and many simply do not have the resources to sustain a long period of inactivity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs the CICV Forum survey shows, cash flow is a major issue and fast-tracking of financial support from government will be crucial as this crisis develops.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The analysis of how businesses are coping \u2013 or not coping \u2013 is the latest initiative by the group, which is made up of respected construction industry bodies including the professions, and which was formed as a direct response to the epidemic emergency.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mk-custom-module-container\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cashflow has dried up for nearly 80% of firms in the construction industry in Scotland, as more than two-thirds of companies say they\u2019ve furloughed staff, according to a new survey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[304],"tags":[676,54592,283],"stakeholder_rel_tag":[],"contributor_rel_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-74895","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-planning-construction-news","7":"tag-construction","8":"tag-coronavirus","9":"tag-finance"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.9 (Yoast SEO v26.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Scottish construction companies \u2018hit hard\u2019 as cashflow \u2018dries up\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cashflow has dried up for nearly 80% of firms in the construction industry in Scotland, as more than two-thirds of companies say they\u2019ve furloughed staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/scottish-construction-covid19\/74895\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scottish construction companies \u2018hit hard\u2019 as cashflow \u2018dries up\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cashflow has dried up for nearly 80% of firms in the construction industry in Scotland, as more than two-thirds of companies say they\u2019ve furloughed staff, according to a new survey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/scottish-construction-covid19\/74895\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Planning, Building &amp; 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