Dr Nelson Ogunshakin OBE Chief Executive of ACE, the Association for Consultancy and Engineering responds to the national infrastructure and construction pipeline announcement:

"In the run-up to the Budget, we asked Government to support our sector by making a long-term commitment to infrastructure. We are delighted that they have responded to our call and are publishing an update to the ten-year investment pipeline which will help bring certainty to the industry and encourage our members to invest in their own skills and capabilities in order to meet this demand.

"We’re pleased to see a focus on productivity and encouraging the adoption of new digital and manufacturing technologies. As a sector, we look forward to working closely with the IPA which will coordinate infrastructure delivery across disparate Whitehall departments.

"However, we need to reiterate our message to Government that we cannot allow the final fifteen months of the Brexit negotiations to derail delivery of this Investment Pipeline. We need the current focus on infrastructure to remain, even if Brexit looms ever larger over Westminster."

ENDS