Commenting on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement delivered today (22 November), Stephen Marcos Jones, CEO of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), which represents the companies large and small who manage our national infrastructure and design our built environment, said:

“Today's Autumn Statement was delivered after a period of significant uncertainty for the built environment, particularly after recent announcements on net zero and transport infrastructure.

While much of the Chancellor's speech focused on taxes and the cost of living, we welcome announcements on engineering apprenticeships, ambitions to speed up delivery of infrastructure projects, funding for green industries accelerators, and late payments. Further detail will be needed to fully understand the potential opportunities and a clear strategy for implementation.

However, the political backdrop means that industry still has more questions than answers. The promise of an updated National Infrastructure Strategy next year highlights the urgent need for a National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline to provide certainty on what is required and will be spent by the government over the next ten years. This will foster an environment where industry can meet the nation's infrastructure needs".