Commenting on today’s Budget, Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) chief executive Hannah Vickers said:

"The Chancellor today rightly combined ongoing support for business with steps to ensure we ‘build back better’. The built environment sector is the engine room of the economy and the freeport and city deal announcements are exactly the sort of holistic, low carbon regeneration programmes we need to simultaneously create jobs, level up opportunities and hit Net Zero ambitions.

"But the Infrastructure Bank must also play its part. The Treasury’s scoping document setting out how the Bank will operate is encouraging, taking on board the Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC) regeneration proposals.  The trick for the bank will be to use its powers to enable ambitious integrated regeneration investments across the UK, whilst avoiding getting fixated on individual project deals."

ACE Chairman Paul Reilly added:

"Our members are at the heart of the digital transformation that will make the ‘better greener faster’ built environment investment the government aspires to a reality. The ‘super-deduction’ for business investment will support the investment in digital capability our firms needs to make.  The increase in the apprentice fee will enable us to invest in the skills of young people so that they can be part of this revolution."