The Construction Confederation has urged chancellor Gordon Brown to fund an occupational health scheme for the industry through the insurance premium tax.
Confederation chairman Trevor Walker has written to Brown about the issue in advance of his pre-Budget statement for next year.

He said Brown could lessen the financial difficulties firms faced because of the rise in premiums by investing in an occupational scheme for the industry.

Walker also called for the deadline for consultation on revisions to the Construction Industry Scheme to be extended beyond April 2005. He said the date was unrealistic: "The industry has always insisted that the scheme is expensive to operate, but change should not be rushed."

He added that proper software and hardware had to be designed and tested before any changes occurred.

The confederation repeated its call for VAT on domestic repair and maintenance work to be cut. Walker said this would allow tax compliant VAT-registered traders to compete better with small traders and those that operated illegally.