SFT has caused paralysis in Scottish construction - Purvis

11.11.50am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 2nd Apr 2009

Liberal Democrat Finance spokesperson Jeremy Purvis MSP has accused the SNP Government's Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) of causing paralysis in the Scottish construction industry.

Figures from the National Office of Statistics show that Scotland's new orders on jobs worth over £2 million dropped from £1,920 million in 2007 to £856 million in 2008. This is the lowest level since 2003.

Commenting ahead of a debate in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Purvis said:

"The fiasco of the Scottish Futures Trust has effectively paralysed construction works in Scotland.

"Since the SNP's insistence to continue with the SFT, investment in new building projects worth over £2 million in Scotland has fallen by more than a billion pounds. This is utterly unacceptable.

"Liberal Democrats have long argued that the Scottish Futures Trust is utterly ineffective. These figures underline that this expensive Government quango is a complete waste of taxpayers' money at this time of recession.

"Ministers must abandon this useless quango and get on with the real work of building the schools and hospitals Scotland needs."

Ends.