The trade body has made this declaration after analysing third quarter construction output data from the Office for National Statistics.

Despite overall construction activity increasing by 0.8%, the FMB has flagged that repair and maintenance work, a reflection of construction spending by homeowners themselves, actually fell by 0.6%.

“[This] shows the building industry is not out of the woods yet, and with the economy barely growing this could represent consumers being careful with their spending,” said Brian Berry, CEO of the FMB.

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“New orders on housing are particularly worrying, given their significant fall over the quarter, this is despite the government's efforts to build 1.5 million homes.”

As such, the FMB is calling for the government to “keep up momentum” with its plans to tackle housing delivery in the UK.

Brian added: “A long-term plan is needed to tackle the ongoing skills crisis, as well as a concerted effort to diversify the housing market by supporting SME builders, if the government is serious about meeting its ambitious goals.”