THE Scottish construction sector's safety record and green credentials must improve, according to a leading industry group.

The Scottish Construction Forum has launched its first manifesto to tackle some of the key challenges facing the sector in Scotland.

Health and safety in the sector is still a major problem with Scotland's record lagging behind the UK average. Meanwhile, the UK's construction sector is responsible for nearly a third of all industry-related pollution incidents.

And construction and demolition waste alone represent 19% of total UK waste.

The new manifesto will be presented at the Scottish Parliament this week, with the SCF also calling on the Executive to a cut the amount of red tape tying up public sector contract awards.

SCF chairman Graeme Millar today said: "This is a significant moment within the construction industry.

"Never before have we acted with a single voice and agreed a list of issues we think should be being addressed by government."

The Scottish construction industry contributes more than £12billion to the economy every year or nearly 10% of Scotland's total economic output.

This is larger than the agriculture, fisheries and public administration sectors combined.

Mr Millar added: "For too long the construction industry's interests at a political level have been under-represented.

"Our record in health and safety is still worse than the UK average, there is still too much red tape tying up the award of government contracts. Appropriate training for new recruits into the industry is also not what it should be.

"All of this impacts on building a negative public perception of our industry and changing this is a fundamental that we need to tackle at every turn."