The UK health sector is set to provide a shot in the arm for the construction industry according to findings from Barbour ABI, which is a chosen provider of data to the ONS and the government. The value of schemes at detail planning stage increased by 62.7% in 2014, compared to the same period in 2013, and suggests a significant volume of work is in the pipeline for the coming years. Construction growth across the medical and health sector was modest in in the previous year at 8.5% (2.3BN), but plans for large-scale projects and the development of known schemes including the new £250M suite at Manchester's Christie Hospital mark a future boost in activity. This comes on the back of news that UK construction companies indicated a further acceleration in output growth during February, driven by the fastest increase in new orders since October 2014, according to the Market/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index.
