Industry Responds to Spring Statement

On Wednesday 26th March, the Chancellor’s Spring Statement pledged to “support the builders, not the blockers”, announcing a £600 million investment to address construction industry skills shortages. The funding aims to train up to 60,000 additional skilled workers by 2029, helping the Government meet its goal of building 1.5 million new homes under the Plan for Change.

The Construction Products Association (CPA) says: “With the impact of the Autumn Budget still fresh in people’s minds, we were not expecting much from today’s Spring Statement that would be directly relevant to UK construction, manufacturing or distribution. The focus of the Chancellor’s Spring Statement was always likely to be on ‘difficult decisions’ regarding the pressure on government finances and increased defence spending in the light of greater global uncertainty and risks. As the onus was on the government to stick to its fiscal rule, the options were to either increase taxes or cut spending, and the Chancellor focused on reducing day-to-day government spending across the civil service and social care to ensure that capital expenditure was broadly maintained from the Autumn Budget, which is positive.

“Another positive is that the Spring Statement included an additional £2 billion in social and affordable housing in 2026‑27, which acts as a bridge to long‑term investment into social and affordable housing through to the government’s Spending Review in June. In addition, amongst an additional £2.2 billion for the Ministry of Defence, there will be an allocation to secure better homes for military families.  The government also reiterated that it is committing £625 million in England over four years to enhance existing training routes, ensure a sustainable flow of skilled construction workers, and support employers in investing in training, with the aim of delivering up to 60,000 additional skilled construction workers during this Parliament.

“However, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which produces the independent economic forecasts accompanying the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, now forecasts that house building in the UK over the five-year parliament will be 1.3 million net additional dwellings, which would approximate to around 1.0 million net additional dwellings for England. As the government’s target is 1.5 million net additional dwellings over the 5-year parliament in England (as housing and house building policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is devolved), the government will fail to meet its target by around 50%. However, this is in line with the CPA’s forecasts, and the CPA has been highlighting this to its members since the new government took office last year.”

Muyiwa Oki, RIBA President, says: “With 1.3 million households on social housing waiting lists, there is a desperate need to build more social housing. Therefore, today’s funding is encouraging. 

“However, there is still much more to be done to meet the scale of the housing need and make up for the decades’ long decline in the provision of social housing. Innovative new funding models, such as those outlined in our report, Foundations for the Future, provide one means to help deliver the homes we urgently need.  

“But we must ensure there is a pipeline of talent to design these homes. The continued funding for Level 7 architecture apprenticeships is key to this, which is why it’s critically important the government keeps this in place to bolster the housing and infrastructure workforce of the future.  

“We continue to work with the Government in its aim to boost social and affordable housing delivery up and down the country.”

Shaun Wadsworth, CFA and FITA Training Manager, comments: “It’s encouraging to see the Government investing in additional skills and training for the construction sector, which is vital for long-term growth. While the £600 million package primarily focuses on core trades like bricklaying and engineering, there’s hope that specialist trades like floorlaying will also see benefits, even if only indirectly. The recent increase in apprenticeship funding for floorlayers is a step in the right direction, and work on additional provision and funding for our sector is ongoing, but whether this new initiative will provide direct support for our industry remains to be seen.”

For all HMRC tax-related documents and other announcements for Spring 2025, visit the Government website.