Commenting on the new construction output figures for January published by the ONS – which show monthly construction output at its highest level since September 2019 – Clive Docwra, managing director of property and construction consultancy McBains, said:

“This third successive monthly rise in growth greater than one per cent shows the construction sector is emerging with resilience from the post-Covid downturn.

However, growth is being driven by repair and maintenance work rather than an increase in new contracts, suggesting that investment in new projects is still sluggish in some areas, particularly private commercial work.

The outlook for the immediate future is also much less rosy – energy price rises will soon bite, plus the war in Ukraine will ramp up these costs further, and the conflict will also have an impact on supply and price of many materials used on UK building projects.  Both factors will exacerbate inflationary pressures, which could derail any longer-term recovery.

It all means construction needs a helping hand, and the Chancellor, in his Spring Statement later this month, could pause the planned national insurance rise to give business some breathing space.”