Commenting on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement delivered today (17 November), Stephen Marcos Jones, CEO of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), which represents the companies large and small who design, deliver and manage our national infrastructure and built environment, said:

“It will come as no surprise that the Chancellor presented a challenging macro-economic picture, and with tax increases previewed in the media over the last few weeks, today’s tax announcements have already had time to be digested by the business community."

“I wrote to the Chancellor this week outlining the importance of investment in infrastructure to deliver the jobs and growth that will help drive the economy through the challenging times ahead. With this in mind, I was pleased to see the Government maintain the capital programme, which means the Northern Powerhouse Rail core, HS2, and the new hospitals programme can all progress. ACE also welcomes the commitment to new energy infrastructure in Sizewell C."

“As important was the news that devolution deals have been struck for Suffolk, Norfolk and Cornwall, as well as increased powers for the Combined Authorities in West Midlands and Greater Manchester. Increasing local decision-making is crucial if we are to make real progress on Levelling Up across the UK, but we would have liked to have seen the Government use this opportunity to consolidate and ringfence spending, rather than introduce another round of competitive funding."

“We were also pleased to see a new focus on innovation for investment zones. While it may impact Councils that initially expressed an interest, we look forward to seeing what can be made of these initiatives.”

“We were, however, surprised to see road duty on EV vehicles raised and it does raise broader questions around the long-term viability of the current system which relies on fuel duties to fund road investment. ACE has long argued for reform in this space, and we look forward to engaging with government departments on the issue.”