Hannah Vickers, chief executive of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) comments on the latest PMI figures released today:

“The figures show a slight bounce as more construction sites were able to increase activity in April, but we’re still a long way from any kind of normality.

“Hidden in the numbers is a deterioration in the pipeline of early stage development and design work, and while we await the Government’s response to the Construction Leadership Council’s Roadmap to Recovery - which was published this week - we need good news on investments in development work to ensure the wider construction sector is supported over the coming months and years.”