Ian Carey, managing director at construction consultancy Pulse Consult said: “With significant challenges around public sector capacity, affordable homes delivery and resorting confidence in the housing market, this year’s Autumn Budget has come at an important time for the UK economy. Confidence and certainty are necessary to encourage long-term investment and growth, with the measures announced today not just providing immediate support.

“Across the public sector estate, the challenge of ensuring public spending is used adequately to create actual improvements in capacity and service delivery remains a challenge. Despite today’s announcement of tax revenue devolution allowing funding gained through business rates to be retained locally, what the weightings of this insurgence in local infrastructure looks like between combined authorities and local councils is yet to be determined.

In healthcare specifically, budgets, rising demand and funding commitments have created a boiling pot in which the sector is truly expected to do more with less. The priority needs to be ensuring public services have the resources and the certainty they need to meet demand without compromising long-terms goals for improvement. The government’s announcement today regarding the use of AI and productivity is a starting point and we can hope this drives real improvement for our healthcare sector.

“On housing, the focus must now turn to delivery. Funding alone won’t be enough. Greater certainty is needed for councils, housing associations and developers to have greater insight on funding and viability if the ambition to increase housing supply is to become reality. The conditions must be created for affordable housing goals to be progressed at scale, not just through funding injections through the Social Affordable Housing Programme for example.

“There is no doubt of the proposed Your First Home Scheme is intended to open up the housing market to new buyers and to support new-build sales. However, it’s effectiveness is something we will need to see in practice. From eligibility criteria to affordability and implementation, these elements in reality may hinder more than help.

“The priority turns to how, as an industry, we can play our part in the creation of the more active housing market and viable public sector pipeline, that today’s Budget announcement has set out. There is no doubt that the success of the measures announced will depend on whether it effectively translates into real outcomes but it’s a job for us all to do our best to clear the path for a successful future.”