Reactions to the Autumn Budget announcement

1 A 'Budget to rebuild Britain'
2 Key elements of the budget in brief
3 CIOB reacts to Government's latest Budget announcement
4 ECA responds to Budget
5 CIAT response to Autumn Budget 2024
6 Building Property Federation comment on the UK Autumn Budget 2024
7 The countryside charity reaction to the autumn budget 2024
8 Related articles on Designing Buildings

[edit] A 'Budget to rebuild Britain'

The Chancellor has delivered a Budget which is is quoted as being 'to fix the foundations to deliver on the promise of change after a decade and a half of stagnation.' Setting out plans to 'fix the NHS and rebuild Britain, while ensuring working people don’t face higher taxes in their payslips.'

"The government was handed a challenging inheritance; £22 billion of unfunded in-year spending pressures, debt at its highest since the 1960s, unrealistic plans for departmental spending, and stagnating living standards."

"As a mission-led government, the Chancellor has today made clear the difficult choices this government will make to rebuild the country. This Budget takes the difficult decisions on tax, spending and welfare to restore economic and fiscal stability, so that the government can invest in the country’s future and achieve its mission for growth. This means hospital waiting lists will be cut with room to invest in Britain to rebuild our schools, hospitals and broken roads."

"The government is protecting working people’s living standards by raising the National Living Wage, cutting duty on draught pints, keeping bus fares down, and not increasing the main rates of income tax, employee national insurance, and VAT. The Budget will help rebuild Britain by boosting public investment by over £100 billion over the next five years while exceeding the manifesto commitment to fix an extra 1 million potholes per year with an additional £500 million for loca road maintenance in 2025-26."

See also Designing Buildings article 2024 Autumn Budget. Extracts above are from Government Press Release "Chancellor chooses a Budget to rebuild Britain" dated 30 October 2024.

[edit] Key elements of the budget in brief

Warm Homes plan at 3.4 billion
Five billion+ for affordable housing
Schools maintenance, including RAAC issues, up by £300m to £2.1bn
1.3 billion extra for councils (600m for social care and 230m to tackle homelessness)
Over ten new hydrogen projects
Hundreds of new planning officers promised
Infrastructure investment and NHS budget increased.
Taxes raised by £40bn, inflation target maintained at 2%
Minimum wage increased to £12.21
15% employers’ national insurance contribution and payment threshold reduced.
Right-to-buy discount reduced, and council housing sales to be reinvested.
Lower threshold capital gains tax from 10-18%
Higher threshold capital gains tax from 20-24%
Rail upgrades including trans-Pennine
HS2 to go to Euston station
A £2.9bn increase in defence spending
Continuing the fuel duty freeze, and 5p cut idue to end in March
5,000 extra compliance officers to increase tax revenues
Income tax and NI freezes not be extended
Debt rules changed.

[edit] CIOB reacts to Government's latest Budget announcement

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has today reacted to the Government’s latest Budget announcement.

Eddie Tuttle, Director of Policy, Research and Public Affairs at CIOB, said: “Today’s Budget offers mixed news for the construction sector. Increased funding for new infrastructure is welcome – as is the continued emphasis put on housing - but higher taxes, like increased employer National Insurance contributions, are likely to increase financial strains on the SMEs that are so vital to the industry and its supply chain.

“Nearly a fifth of UK SMEs operate in construction and the cyclical, boom-bust nature of the sector, as well as recent economic hardships, have created a difficult environment for these businesses. So far in 2024, they have accounted for 20 per cent of business insolvencies and alarmingly, around 11,000 firms have collapsed since 2022.

“While we understand the need to build up public finances and reorder the fiscal rules to channel greater investment, the impact of increased costs on construction SMEs could be devastating. SMEs play a vital role in the delivery of new homes and infrastructure as well as the repair and maintenance of existing buildings.

“Increased tax rises without consistent monitoring of the impact they have on the health of crucial sectors, such as construction, run the risk of damaging the pivotal role SMEs play. We urge ongoing government consultation with bodies like CIOB to monitor these impacts on the sector.

“We welcome the Government’s plans to introduce the Warm Homes Plan, which was a key feature in the Labour Party’s election manifesto and includes a promise of £3.4 billion for energy efficiency measures. We hope policymakers will consult with the construction industry on how the grant funding will be targeted, to avoid repeating previous mistakes in other upgrade schemes.

“Finally, building safety remains a critical concern for the construction industry, so we were pleased funding for dangerous cladding remediation was acknowledged as part of the Budget, particularly in the wake of the second phase of the report into the tragedy at Grenfell Tower.”

This section appears on the CIOB news and blogsite as 'CIOB reacts to Government's latest Budget announcement' dated 30 October, 2024.

[edit] ECA responds to Budget

In response to today's Budget announcement, ECA Chief Operating Officer Andrew Eldred said:

"ECA welcomes the Chancellor’s commitment to invest in industry, housing and electric transport. And her commitment to refocus levy funding away from Masters’ degrees towards trade apprenticeships, as announced earlier this year. These steps align with our call for a skills system that delivers on the practical needs of integrating green technologies for net-zero.

"However, this budget lacks crucial detail on how it will support skills access for smaller firms, which make up 99% of the electrical contracting sector. These businesses will now also carry the higher burden of Employer National Insurance and higher apprentice costs.

"As outlined in our Charter to Recharge Electrical Skills, a system responsive to local and future demand is essential, as is industry’s role in shaping pathways and qualifications that lead directly to employability. Robust support for green skills is critical to preparing a workforce that can meet the demands of the net-zero transition, and we urge government collaboration with industry to close regional gaps and build a strong, skilled talent pipeline."

This section was issued via Press Release as 'ECA responds to Budget' dated 30 October 2024.

[edit] CIAT response to Autumn Budget 2024

Eddie Weir PCIAT, CIAT President said:

The UK’s built environment is in urgent need of revitalisation. CIAT therefore welcomes today’s Budget Statement, which has set a clear direction of travel for the built environment, underpinned by a new approach to infrastructure investment.

In particular, the Institute is pleased to see Government commit to repairing and upgrading schools and hospitals that are reaching the end of their lifespan, investing in home insulation and retrofit, and taking steps to tackle unsafe cladding, which still puts residents at risk, seven years after the Grenfell fire.

CIAT also welcomes the support for much needed new homes, through direct investment, guarantees for the SME contractors which are the backbone of the sector, and changes to right to buy to facilitate local authority investment in social housing.

These are ambitious commitments, and CIAT is therefore pleased to see increased funding for further education and apprenticeships, as well as investment in planning capacity.

Of course, there remains much to be done. Skills investment must be targeted to the green building design and construction jobs of the future. Government must continue to advance the standards of quality and sustainability in all new homes. And with around 10 million cold, damp and energy inefficient homes across the UK, retrofit activity must be radically scaled up in the coming years. Small businesses will also be concerned that increased taxes will place pressure on already tight profit margins.

Chartered Architectural Technologists have the skills and expertise to deliver the high quality, safe and sustainable buildings of the future. We look forward to working with Government to deliver their programme of modernisation over the course of this parliament.

This section appears on the CIAT news and blog site as 'CIAT response to Autumn Budget 2024' dated 30 October 2024.

[edit] Building Property Federation comment on the UK Autumn Budget 2024

Commenting on the UK Autumn Budget Statement, BPF Chief Executive Melanie Leech CBE said:

“With no concessions on the overall business rates burden, today’s announcements on this are just robbing Peter to pay Paul. However, the Chancellor has at least recognised the business rates system is broken and has signposted the direction towards a reformed system. In the meantime, recognition of the unsustainable burden on retail, leisure and hospitality sectors and measures to continue to support them are welcome, but alongside the employer tax increases announced don’t go far enough to provide our high streets with the protection they need today.

“Measures to support the delivery of more homes are welcome but the Chancellor knows that much more is needed if the Government is to deliver on its 1.5 million homes pledge. The promised housing strategy needs to be much bolder and go much further. This includes unlocking the billions of pounds of investment into the build-to-rent sector, so it is particularly disappointing that Rachel Reeves did not take the opportunity to reverse the previous Government’s decision to abolish multiple dwellings relief announced in Spring.”

This section appears on the Building Property Federation web page as 'BPF comment on the UK Autumn Budg et 2024' dated 30 October, 2024.

[edit] The countryside charity reaction to the autumn budget 2024

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced the budget statement, the first budget of the new Labour government since they were elected in July.

Commenting on the chancellor’s budget statement, Roger Mortlock, chief executive of CPRE, said:

‘Rural England has suffered from chronic underinvestment for many years, yet research by the Rural Coalition demonstrates the transformative potential of our rural economy. With the right policy framework and investment, the countryside could contribute an additional £9 billion to £19 billion annually in tax revenue.’

On housing

‘We are delighted that the chancellor has set a budget of £3.1 billion to deliver affordable housing. So-called “affordable” housing is often far beyond the means of most people, however. Affordability should be defined in line with average local incomes, rather than as 80% of market value, as is currently the case. When the average price of a house in rural England is more than 16 times the average rural salary, so-called ‘affordable’ homes are often anything but.

‘£3bn of support and guarantees for small housebuilders is excellent news for an industry that is dominated by a few profit-hungry giants. Our research with the Federation of Master Builders has shown that, while big developers keep profits high, small- and medium-sized housebuilders can help to bring more genuinely affordable homes on to the market.

‘At current rates of construction, it would take almost a century to clear social housing waiting lists in rural parts of the country. Investing money from Right-to-Buy in more social housing is a welcome step in the right direction.’

On departmental budget cuts

‘We recognise that the government needs to balance its books. However, slashing Defra’s budget puts previously protected support for farmers at risk, while changing Agricultural Property relief could put farm businesses at risk. This is counter intuitive when the country faces both climate and nature crises. Farmers could be the heroes of a countryside that delivers climate and nature solutions for the nation – but they need to be paid to do so.’

On the bus fare price cap increase

‘The increased bus fare cap will see rural bus users paying higher fares for dwindling services, further driving rural inequality and harming our efforts to reach net zero by 2030. Outside towns and cities, people who can’t afford a car face social isolation as well as reduced access to education and work. Money raised by the fare cap increase should be invested in our crumbling rural public transport networks.’