WORKLOADS for builders in the Midlands have slumped in the past few months, bucking national trends.

According to the Federation of Master Builders' second quarterly trade survey of 300 companies, business between April and June this year was down by 39 per cent.

The Midlands was the only region to report a dip in orders, as the average growth across the country was up 11 per cent.

The slump has affected all sectors, says the survey. Private and social new build, repair and maintenance contracts and commercial and industrial construction all dropped.

But things were different in the first quarter of 2000, when Midlands' builders saw orders rise by five per cent.

According to the FMB another 16 per cent of firms expect their workloads to decrease in the next three months.

Now the FMB claims builders in the region could be put out of business by "an avalanche of red tape".

"The Government's good intentions of protecting workers are proving counter-productive to business," said John Watson, the regional director of the FMB's Midlands branch.

"Companies have to spend more time and money on administration and less time on running the business.

"The negative impact of all this red tape could result in many workers not having a job to protect."

Mr Watson claimed the Construction Industry Scheme - a new tax system for sub-contractors - was a particular "nightmare".