THE Scottish Government has announced a strategic forum with Construction Scotland, a new leadership organisation for the building sector.
The group’s primary aim is the development of a shared action plan between government and industry.
This will enable the Scottish Government to deliver its economic infrastructure and built environment aims, while also supporting the construction industry to achieve the goals set out in the Construction Scotland Industry Strategy for 2019-2022.
The industry body and Holyrood chiefs have so far held talks on plans to improve building quality and infrastructure, with further talks planned.
Finance Secretary, Derek Mackay, said state investment in the sector would continue.
“The Scottish Government is driving forward a National Infrastructure Mission and steadily increasing Scotland’s annual infrastructure investment until it is £1.5 billion higher by the end of the next Parliament than in 2019-20,” he said. “We estimate that this will mean around £7bn of extra infrastructure investment by the end of the next Parliament.
“To meet our ambitious infrastructure plans we will rely on a successful construction industry.
“We look forward to working collectively to form a refreshed and stronger relationship between the industry and government.”
Chair of Construction Scotland, Ken Gillespie, added: “Construction contributes over £21bn annually to Scotland. It also an important driver of the wider economy due to the impact construction investment has on other sectors.
“As a result I am very pleased that a strategic leadership forum has been formed between Construction Scotland and the Scottish Government to put a focus on this key economic driver.
“We have already had very productive discussions on key issues like improving the quality of building, infrastructure and procurement.
“We anticipate valuable discussions in future that make a real difference to the sector and the impact it makes.”
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