The findings follow the latest official statistics, which showed 164 Scottish building firms were forced into bankruptcy last year - a rise of 122% on the number of construction companies going bust five years ago.

BBC: Construction firms hit by late payment 'epidemic'

Ministers were well aware that the latest official statistics on England's house-building were due for release yesterday morning and their contents but, rather than contrive to coincide with the most recent data, the prime minister and his deputy invited the cameras to watch them plod through the mud of a housing development precisely 24 hours earlier.

BBC: Building trust in building statistics

The data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that demand for refined metals, steel and other materials used for building remains subdued.

BBC: China manufacturing activity shrinks again in September