In the three months to the end of August, construction output increased 1.8% on the same period last year. New work was 5.6% up while repair & maintenance decreased by 4.6%, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

These are provisional figures and might be adjusted slightly as more data are collected in the months ahead. 

In the one month of August, which usually shows a month-on-month decrease because of holidays, output in the construction industry decreased by 4.3% compared with July. But it also fell 1.3% on August 2014, which is the first year-on-year monthly fall since May 2013.