On 22 November, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt delivered his 2023 Autumn Statement for Growth, laying out the government’s plans for tax and spending.
The chancellor’s attention was firmly on the looming general election, with headline measures aimed squarely at money back in people’s pockets. This was an autumn statement focused primarily on the twin aims of cutting taxes and kickstarting growth.
This focus was well-received by many members of the chancellor’s own party – especially the decision to press ahead with cuts to personal and business taxes, where reductions to National Insurance in particular were met by cheers from Conservative backbenchers.
Measures related to housing, planning and infrastructure were also given a high billing in the statement. With a general election on the horizon, it’s clear that the chancellor is looking to push through some big-ticket items on issues that are salient to the public.
Read RIBA President Muyiwa Oki’s initial reaction to the statement and find out more about what it means for RIBA Members and the wider built environment below.
Planning reforms
With a raft of housing and planning announcements included in the autumn statement, there are plenty of policy commitments to unpick.
Among these was a new England-wide premium planning service, which offers guaranteed accelerated decision dates for major planning applications and fee refunds wherever these are not met.
Major applications include residential developments of 10 or more dwellings or on a site area of half a hectare or more; or development of floorspace of above 1,000 square metres.
Designed to end delays to major applications by allowing large commercial projects to secure faster planning permission, there is some cause for celebration.
RIBA Members have long raised delays as a significant block to projects being undertaken, and in April 2023, RIBA’s Future Trends analysis showed that the speed with which planning applications are being processed is deteriorating compared to two years ago.
However, while reforms such as this new planning service will play a role, the wider issue – lack of comprehensive investment into planning resources – remains.
Additionally, it’s vital that this new service does not take away from ensuring that projects receive the level of scrutiny needed to create high quality developments. We will continue to work with the government to promote the importance of quality throughout the built environment.
Housing supply
Investment in housebuilding was another cornerstone of yesterday’s announcement, including welcome funds to tackle planning backlogs and for the delivery of high quality housing in Cambridge, Leeds and London.
In Cambridge, this will include support for the Cambridge Delivery Group to explore the case for the implementation of a development corporation.
Local authority funding was also on the agenda, with £450 million confirmed to deliver 2,400 homes through a third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund.
This will provide much needed funding for new temporary accommodation as well as homes for Afghan refugees, though falls far short of meeting the level of need.
To top it off, the thorny matter of permitted development rights reared its head again: this time in the form of a new permitted development right to allow one house to be converted into two dwellings, on the condition that the exterior is not affected.
Green industry and net zero
Ahead of COP28, which kicks off next week in the UAE, commitments to support the necessary transition to net zero buildings were few and far between.
The chancellor announced a new consultation to introduce new permitted development rights to end the blanket restriction on heat pumps one metre from a property boundary in England. Improving access to a wider range of heating solutions will be an important part of our net zero transition, and as such, consulting on this is a welcome move.
Alongside this, the government has published plans which will halve the time to build major grid upgrades. This sits beside a new offer of up to £10,000 off electricity bills over 10 years for those living closest to new transmission infrastructure.
Moves to incentivise community support for green infrastructure are a vital part of reaching net zero, and this will likely have a positive impact on lessening opposition to its rollout.
Nutrient neutrality
Nutrient neutrality was a key omission in the recent King’s Speech, which set out the legislative agenda for the current parliamentary session.
Nutrient neutrality rules are designed to protect the environment and mean that no new developments are permitted that increase levels of phosphates and nitrates in waterways.
The government has repeatedly stressed its position that these rules are a blocker to building much-needed new homes, and in August tried to scrap them. However, these attempts were rejected in the House of Lords.
Yesterday the chancellor confirmed plans to make £110 million available through the Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund, which will support local planning authorities affected by nutrient neutrality rules to deliver high quality local nutrient offsetting schemes. The aim of this is to unlock 40,000 homes over the next five years.
Personal tax cuts
After playing down the possibility of being able to cut personal taxes in recent weeks, the chancellor’s flagship policy of cuts to National Insurance was sure to be made with one eye fixed tightly on the ballot box.
From 6 January 2024, a 2% cut to Employee National Insurance will come into effect – amounting to a tax cut of over £450 per annum on average. Taxes for the self-employed will also be reduced and reformed. From April 2024, Class 4 National Insurance contributions will be reduced and Class 2 National Insurance contributions will be abolished.
What’s missing?
With so many announcements in the housing and planning space, and due attention paid to the importance of green infrastructure, it was disappointing that a long term plan to retrofit our existing housing stock wasn’t included in yesterday’s funding commitments.
Such a strategy is a critical step to decarbonise our built environment, create jobs, and level up the country .
RIBA’s representation for the Autumn Statement for Growth also called for funding commitments for architecture students. It recommends that all UK courses that are part of the route to becoming an architect be re-classified into Price Group B, alongside comparable disciplines such as civil and structural engineering.
Architects will play a key role in realising government commitments of reaching net zero, improving building safety and levelling up across the country. The next generation of architects needs to be appropriately skilled, competent, and knowledgeable to address these complex issues. As such, a failure to do so yesterday is a real missed opportunity.
What now?
Yesterday’s statement made some small steps towards necessary change, but it’s clear that more must be done to create the high quality, sustainable and accessible homes and places that are needed across the country.
RIBA is committed to continuing to work with the government to design homes and places that are fit for the future, in line with our net zero commitments.
