Positive reactions to Autumn Statement
17 November 2022
Industry organisations were quick to give their response to chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement made earlier today, seeing it as providing positive measures to encourage infrastructure development.
Kevin Minton, chief executive of the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) said: “In what will be challenging economic times, it is welcome that the government has committed to Hinkley Point C, HS2 (pictured), the East West rail link and Northern Powerhouse Rail.
“This echoes our call for the Autumn Statement to provide stability and confidence for the construction sector, utilising construction as a driver of economic growth. It follows the move to make the Annual Investment Allowance set permanently at £1 million. The construction plant-hire industry has a critical role to play in these projects. Moving into 2023, the CPA will be working closely with our members to realise these ambitions.”
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) welcomed the further support signalled for the energy costs of businesses and vulnerable users, the government’s commitment to maintain investment in infrastructure, including transport, renewable energy and broadband, protecting departmental capital budgets, as well as support for a national retrofit programme.
The government has announced a new commitment of more than £6 billion from 2025 to extend energy efficiency retrofit programmes, to cut energy use of buildings by 15 per cent by 2030, with a new Energy Efficiency Taskforce to drive this. It also reinforced its commitments to carbon reduction made at last year’s COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.
CLC co-chair Mark Reynolds said: “We fully support the government’s ambition to improve energy efficiency of buildings nationwide, while slashing carbon emissions. The CLC will give our fullest possible support to the Energy Efficiency Taskforce, ensuring that this work can be delivered as quickly and affordably as possible.”
He added: “One of our key asks going into today’s Autumn Statement was to avoid cuts to existing programmes of work that are providing jobs and growth across the country. We welcome the chancellor’s continuing commitment to major investment in our social and transport infrastructure.”
