Question reference: S6W-01620
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 20 July 2021
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Current status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 4 August 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the reported shortage of building supplies, and the impact that this may have on different sectors of the economy.
Answer
I am meeting with the industry on a weekly basis to address the supply chain issues, which are due to a number of factors including the COVID-19 pandemic and EU Exit.
Data from the fortnightly Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) provides us with an insight into the impact on the construction industry in Scotland, for example:
- In Wave 34 of the survey (covering the period 28 June 2021 to 11 July 2021), 59.6% of Construction businesses reported that the prices of materials, goods or services bought in the last two weeks had increased by more than normal price fluctuations. The proportion of Construction businesses reporting that prices had increased more than normal has been rising since April 2021 (32.7% in Wave 29).
- In Wave 33 of the survey (covering the period 14 June 2021 to 27 June 2021), 50.1% of applicable Construction businesses reported that they were able to get the materials, goods or services they needed from the EU in the past two weeks, but 36.6% reported that the business had to change suppliers or find alternative solutions, and a further 13.3% reported that they had not been able to get the materials, goods or services needed. The proportion of Construction businesses reporting that they had been able to access materials has been declining since April 2021 (83.0% in Wave 29), and Construction businesses reporting that they had not been able to access materials has increased since April 2021 (8.1% in Wave 29).
The latest data from the Scottish Government analysis of the BICS is available at: BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 34 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .