Scotland’s construction industry’s recovery could be put at serious risk a new report has warned amid fears serious fraud hasn't yet been tackled.

Looking at Scotland’s construction industry, Grant Thornton UK has suggested fraud has become so commonplace that it risks the growth of the whole industry.

In 2009 the CIB found that around 1/3 of construction companies had experienced some kind of fraud and it seems this practice has continued through the recession but notably in Scotland.

With over 170,000 workers and over 30,000 businesses, Scotland’s most common construction industry fraud includes: manipulation of percentage completion schedules, releasing payments early, post-tender award change orders, add-ons and budget overruns.

James Andersen from Grant Thornton UK’s Head Property and Construction team in Scotland, said: “Scotland’s construction sector is finally catching up with the rest of the economy with output increasing by around 10% in the last twelve months. While that’s naturally welcome news, it also carries a risk that we could see the return of some of the major issues the sector faced pre-recession.

“What’s needed now is for Scotland’s business community to better recognise that fraud and corruption is one of the economy’s biggest growth threats. Companies also need to take a tougher stance on fraudulent cases by prosecuting offenders more often and sending out a clear message that Scotland’s construction industry is open for business and not for fraud.”

Although construction has been relatively flat throughout the UK over the last quarter, the construction industry in Scotland has performed remarkably well however it’s important that these issues are tackled head on so our industry can continue to lay the kind of foundations this recovery requires, both for Scotland and for the wider UK.