§ Mr. SillarsTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his assessment of the prospects for the Scottish construction industry over the coming year.
§ Mr. LangProspects for the Scottish construction industry over the coming year are very good with orders and output for the first half of 1989 at the highest levels since 1978 and 1980, respectively. Orders in the first half of 1989 were up 26.6 per cent. in real terms on those of the same period for 1988, with the private sector performing particularly well. Increased orders point to continued strong growth of output in the coming year, particularly in the private sector.
This favourable picture is supported by the latest business surveys, ie. the Scottish chambers business survey and the civil engineers workload trends survey. These reveal high levels of optimism regarding the general business situation and future levels of employment during the coming year within the construction industry.