“The Chancellor’s first budget raised taxes by £41.5bn and, while we did not expect this second to reverse them, what she did need to do was restore confidence to those operating in the built environment who currently feel dispirited, unsure, and under-confident.

The news of £600m worth of investment to train up to 60,000 additional skilled construction workers, as well as a Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) which will benefit from £20m, is to be welcomed, but there was nothing in today’s statement to buttress investor confidence.

It’s certainly not jam today—it is jam tomorrow, and any jam available seems to be spread over an ever-widening piece of toast. This was not a statement that will empower investors. It was a fingers-crossed approach from a Chancellor being driven by the markets, rather than the other way around.”

Brian McArdle, Managing Director, Gleeds UK