"The chancellor's commitment to furthering devolution through £1.5 billion of Good Growth funding for Mayors across England is a significant vote of confidence in the regions of the UK. It clearly reflects the growing importance of devolved governance and local decision-making in driving place-based growth.
"Giving regions greater control over business rates from next year, alongside future powers to grant them a share of income tax revenues and overnight visitor levies, will enable local leaders to unlock more targeted funding that will accelerate the delivery of infrastructure, ensuring investment is aligned with local priorities. It represents a positive step towards empowering the regions to shape their own futures.
"The chancellor's £20 million backing of the restoration of Liverpool's iconic Littlewoods Building was a welcome endorsement of Liverpool's growth potential and long-term economic prospects. Part of Liverpool's Knowledge Quarter and the gateway to the North West Innovation Corridor, it’s a scheme that will help to transform the creative and life sciences sectors across the entire North West region.
"The ambition is clear already there, but what regions need now is the confidence, resources and decision-making powers to turn that ambition into delivery. If these measures mark the beginning of a more consistent, devolved approach to funding and investment, they will unlock transformational projects across the country, drive sustainable economic growth and create stronger, more resilient regional economies for the long term."
- Managing Director, UK Regions
- Client Solutions
“To deliver more homes, the sector has been calling for policy stability and additional funding. We also need a fully functioning housing market with support for private housing for sale, alongside social and affordable housing supply.
“Today’s budget delivered on the stability point and the additional £1.5bn in funding for the Social and Affordable Homes programme is very welcome. Assuming an average grant rate of £130k per home, the funding will support delivery of approximately 11,500 homes – but this leaves another 28,000 or so deliverable homes unfunded and a number of experienced and capable delivery partners without strategic partnership.
“The reintroduction of Help to Buy, in the form of the Your First Home scheme, is welcome and will help to stimulate demand for new homes. But the household income cap of £110,000 introduced, extending to £140,000 in London, will inevitably reduce its reach and leave some excluded from support. The application of price caps at local authority level will also risk locking out first time buyer households, particularly those seeking three-bedroom homes.
“Raising the income caps for shared ownership and the retention of lease rent mechanisms are both encouraging and it will be interesting to see how the affordability and accessibility interface between shared ownership and Your First Home will play out at the local level. Zero rating VAT on land sold to registered providers also reduces the effective cost and simplifies the land and development process.
“Devolution is already strengthening collaboration on regional, place-based housing delivery. A coordinated approach that brings together housing, infrastructure and long-term planning will be essential if the government is to meet its targets and create sustainable communities for future generations.”
- Principal
- Head of UK Living and Affordable Housing
“The announcement that the government will be increasing the rateable value threshold from £12,000 to £18,000 to support smaller businesses is welcome news and an encouraging prospect for occupiers facing cost pressures in the current tax landscape. But a cut in rates for small businesses should not be at the expense of the UK's biggest occupiers.
“The government’s decision to extend the additional 1p multiplier for a further two years on properties not benefiting from transitional relief will leave many of the UK's biggest employers facing significantly higher costs for a longer period. Business rates receipts are already forecast to reach record levels, rising from £35.1 billion in 2026/27 to £36.9bn in 2027/28, representing the highest commercial property tax rate in the world.
“When the UK is competing internationally for talent and capital, this continued reliance on larger businesses to fund relief elsewhere could ultimately undermine future investment and growth. Policymakers must consider the UK's attractiveness as a destination for major businesses, which generate substantial employment, investment and tax revenues.
“This Budget also represents a significant shift by the chancellor in support of the prime minister’s ambition to devolve power away from Westminster and back to local authorities. The commitment to 100% of business rates income being retained by local authorities by 2030 effectively takes us back to a position not seen since before the introduction of the national business rates system in 1990.
“However, this raises questions in terms of how the government intends to redistribute resources between authorities with a limited commercial tax base and those that generate substantial business rates revenues. If this challenge is not addressed, there is a real risk that existing inequalities between local areas will only be exacerbated.”
DEVOLUTION
“While we welcome Labour’s development first approach, the real impact will be determined by the specifics of the implementation and public and private sector collaboration for housing delivery will be a key”
GREEN PROSPERITY PLANS
“Labour’s Great British Energy is only possible with robust infrastructure to support”
PLANNING REFORM
“Labour’s planning reform is hoped to boost housebuilding, but it must not overlook the need for an industrial strategy”
THE ECONOMY
“Labour’s planning reform is hoped to boost housebuilding, but it must not overlook the need for an industrial strategy”