The Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) says the government needs to do more to place infrastructure at the heart of the UK’s growth strategy.

While welcoming the chancellor’s commitment to infrastructure projects such as Northern Powerhouse Rail in today’s Budget, it stresses more detail is needed on the substantive reforms and long-term commitments required to accelerate growth and development.

Ben Brittain, director of public affairs at ACE, said: “ACE welcome the positive decisions on Northern Powerhouse Rail and PPP for Neighbourhood Health Centres (NHC) - next we need to see the practical detail and long-term clarity required to turn ambition into accelerated delivery. Today’s Budget was a chance to set out the detailed, long-term reforms needed to stabilise NISTA’s pipeline and unlock private investment.

“What is now needed is concrete information to give industry confidence. Expanded devolved transport settlements and renewed support for Northern Powerhouse Rail, alongside not proceeding with plans to equalise the rates of Landfill Tax, show that the government understand the role of infrastructure in driving regional growth.”

He added: “Infrastructure underpins productivity, jobs and economic growth. Now we want to work with government to urgently accelerate progress – including more detail on the private investment models it wants industry to rely on. Infrastructure cannot remain the missing link in the growth plan.

“The industry now needs clarity. ACE members will work in partnership to support the development and implementation of these models, but we need the government to fill in the gaps and look forward to working with them to fill in these gaps.”

Industry has continued to give its verdict on Rachel Reeves second Budget as chancellor.

Rachel Ellison, managing director for advisory and programme delivery for UK and Europe at Mott MacDonald, said: “The chancellor has shown continued support for infrastructure in her Budget. The certainty that this creates is essential to enable businesses to confidently invest in order to realise the ambitions set out earlier this year in the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy. 

“Announcements today about the private funding approach to projects such as Lower Thames Crossing and Heathrow give even greater clarity – both for project pipelines and on how the government intends to fund its planned infrastructure investment. The funding piece is essential as delays to major programmes of work affect the ability of our industry to deliver efficiently and attract and retain people into the sector, too.” 

Mott MacDonald’s technical director for town planning, Sarah Henderson, responded to the news that planning reforms will be backed by further funding.

“The announcement of £48m for local authorities to recruit 350 new planners is vital to the implementation of a streamlined planning system. The new Planning Careers Hub should improve retention and create new routes into the sector. This will reduce the skills gap that currently exist in delivering critical infrastructure projects. 

“However, other regulators, such as the Environment Agency, also need to be resourced sufficiently to ensure that they are equipped to make their contribution to consenting regimes efficiently.” 

Neil Sansbury, managing director UK and Ireland at Ramboll, said: “This Budget comes at an important time for the UK. Over the past year, the government has laid out its vision for growth, backed by long-term infrastructure ambitions, planning reform and a substantial national pipeline. But vision alone will not deliver the growth the UK needs. The priority now must be turning these commitments into real progress on the ground.

“Infrastructure is fundamental to economic renewal, and this Budget rightly commits significant investment across transport, energy and regional growth. But while it is encouraging to see recognition that infrastructure is the backbone of economic growth across the UK, the Budget still leaves a gap between the scale of the challenge and achieving the right pace of delivery. We need a clear shift from setting direction to unblocking the practical barriers that constrain delivery across the country. Without that acceleration, the UK risks losing momentum at the very moment it should be pushing forward.”

Nancy MacDonald, UK&I regional business lead – infrastructure at Stantec, said: “In a challenging fiscal climate, the government’s continued focus on the sector shows strength of conviction that good quality development can deliver economic growth. Clarity over additional investment to boost planning capacity and a clear commitment to major infrastructure projects across the county demonstrates the chancellor’s intent to get Britain building – spending now to save in the long term.

“But capital spending only delivers if the design is right, and projects need to be planned with long-term economic and social value outcomes in mind. The delivery of neighbourhood health centres and integrating other essential services into the places people live is a step in the right direction to ensuring that projects not only bring strong returns but create sustainable communities that are fit for the future.”

Andrew Reynolds, RLB UK and Europe chief executive, said: “The chancellor’s announcement today of £ 820m over three years for ‘youth guarantee’ will be particularly welcome in our sector, particularly the promise for every 18-21-year-old in England access to apprenticeship, training and education or job opportunities. 

“It was also good to hear the £13bn funding to devolved governments and tax breaks for high street retail and leisure, which will help the urban regeneration needed in so many of our towns. However, the biggest absence from this budget was any significant new announcements on PPP, which, although off the balance sheet, surely is needed to fund the future of our estates within the regions.”

Gavin Mason, operations director at multi-disciplinary Pick Everard, said: “For the construction industry, the Autumn Budget 2025 focused heavily on unlocking delivery by protecting the £120bn capital envelope and funding key projects like the Lower Thames Crossing.

“The decision to scrap the single-rate Landfill Tax overhaul is a vital win; by preventing a £15,000 per home cost hike, the government has not further challenged financial viability on brownfield sites.

“However, the silence on the Building Safety Act is notable. With the UK having fallen roughly 170,000 homes short of its 300,000-per-year target over the last two years alone, the lack of new resources to clear regulatory bottlenecks remains a critical missed opportunity.”

James Corrigan, UK managing director for infrastructure at Turner & Townsend, said: “The government rightly acknowledged infrastructure’s role as the backbone of economic growth. Though the days of big public spending on programmes may be a distant memory, it was welcome to see funding confirmed for Lower Thames Crossing and certainty on Heathrow’s expansion earlier in the week.

“NISTA’s pipeline and today’s announcements are positive steps in providing the industry with visibility and clarity on priorities and public resource. But with high demands on infrastructure over the coming decade, we need government to work with our industry to drive more private investment into the sector, plug the funding gap and deliver on Labour’s growth agenda.

“With the budget firmly in place, it is up to our industry to have the confidence to create meaningful growth through coordinated delivery of resources, strategy and appropriate investment models. NISTA's pipeline was a positive start for confidence and visibility in the infrastructure sector. We need to build on this momentum through capital investment in order to drive private investment, the 'lifeblood' of economic growth. Acting now is vital – the failure to deliver targets could pose the risk of alienating future investors.”

Matthew Wragg, CEO of Gattaca PLC - parent of STEM recruitment brand Matchtech - welcomed investment for skills. He said: “The budget committed over £1.5bn over the spending review period for employment and skills support. Targeted investment in long term skills development will strengthen the future talent pipeline, particularly in skills short areas such as engineering. These programmes will support upskilling across engineering, digital and technical roles critical to the UK's industrial strategy, and we can support via our LEAP programmes.”

He added; “The Budget sets the stage for a more expensive and competitive labour market. Rising employment costs, frozen tax thresholds and tighter pension rules will squeeze take home pay and increase pressure on employers to rethink their reward strategies. At the same time, long-term investment in infrastructure, energy, defence and skills will continue to drive strong demand for specialist talent.

“The challenge for 2026 will be balancing higher costs with the need to attract and retain the people who will deliver the UK’s growth ambitions.”

Beatrice Barleon, head of policy and public affairs at EngineeringUK, said: “The Autumn Budget arrived at a pivotal moment for skills reform, with the recent post-16 skills white paper highlighting the declining provision of apprenticeships for young people, including in key Industrial Strategy growth sectors.

“The chancellor’s decision to fully fund SME apprenticeships for young people under 25 – up from age 22 currently – will help to break down barriers to SME participation in apprenticeships. However, government must go further with additional wrap-around support for SMEs. We also welcome the commitment to invest an additional £725m in the Growth and Skills Levy over the next five years, and look forward to seeing further detail ahead of April 2026.

“The government must ensure that this funding uplift is adequately targeted at young people and at filling critical skills gaps within sectors with the greatest employment demand, such as engineering and technology.”

Tony O’Carroll, CEO of Conrad Energy, said: “For the energy sector, no news is effectively good news following the groundwork laid last year.

“High industrial energy prices and other economic challenges we are facing in the UK remain a concern, but the energy transition is so named for a reason, and progress will not be achieved overnight. To unlock the benefits of a cleaner, more renewable energy system we need to stay the course which is why it is welcome that the infrastructure investments announced last autumn and over the course of this year were left untouched.

“Ensuring that the UK energy sector remains an attractive option for investment and business through consistent, forward-thinking policies will be essential if we are to unlock the economic growth that the government is targeting. Recent measures, including the Planning and Infrastructure Bill should also help to encourage investment and help maximise returns.”