At the end of March, Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out Labour’s plans for the economy in her Spring Forecast. Often considered the season of change, the Spring Forecast – also known as the Spring Statement – showed a promising reflection of just that – particularly for the construction sector.
Here are our thoughts and takeaways on what the Spring Forecast means for the construction industry:
Investment in skills
A positive announcement made in the Forecast was Rachel Reeves’ commitment to address the skills shortage in the sector with a £625 million investment in training. Spent over four years, the investment will boost existing training schemes and help bring 60,000 new construction workers into the sector.
The construction industry drives a huge amount of economic growth and development in the UK, and the skills shortage in the sector has resulted in fewer experienced construction workers year by year. This of course impacts the stability of future construction and infrastructure projects and potentially the broader economy.
Reeves’ promise to invest into the sector’s workforce is a welcome news, and exactly the type of action this industry needs to ensure a full recovery from a difficult few years. At Premier Modular, we invest in training the next generation of workers through our apprenticeship scheme, which continues to grow year-on-year, as well as supporting the growth and development of our employees. We’re hopeful that the increased investment from the Government will be hugely beneficial to the future construction workforce.
Boosting capital spending
The boost to capital spending has been music to the ears of every construction firm up and down the country. A boost in capital spending naturally offers more opportunity for the construction sector to scale – we can especially see benefit for the modular building industry.
This investment has the potential to improve a number of local services and facilities, and we hope to see funds focused on vital healthcare and education buildings, and improving communities. Modular buildings can be quickly installed to meet urgent local needs, whether it’s additional hospital wards or temporary classrooms. The speed and flexibility of modular construction make it an ideal solution for rapidly evolving community requirements, the likes of which we expect to see more of following the increased capital spend from the Government.
The boost in capital investment, both in scale and scope, should benefit key sectors such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure, where modular construction can offer real advantages.
Increased defence investments
The Chancellor has also announced further increases to defence spending. The budget was due to rise by £2.9 billion next year, but following the Spring Forecast is now set to increase by a further £2.2 billion. This will offer significant opportunities for construction works in the defence sector.
Modular is already paving the way in defence and this promise of further investment into the sector is a positive step forward. Modular buildings can play a key role in defence infrastructure, and are often used to modernise military bases. With Reeves’ emphasis on investing in emerging technologies and innovation for defence, we expect the focus on defence funding to drive new infrastructure projects. For example, we have worked on military projects to provide rapid deployment of modular personnel accommodation, medical facilities, command centres and training facilities.
There is no doubt that the Spring Forecast offers a promising outlook for the construction industry, with several key developments positioned to drive growth and innovation. Whilst we can see that the Government is taking a lot of positive steps to grow the economy and secure Britain’s future through its Plan for Change, the long-term effectiveness of the Forecast on the sector is yet to be seen. However, the promised investments in skills, capital spending, and defence are welcome steps forward, creating many opportunities for the construction sector to grow.
If you would like to find out more about how Premier Modular can support your construction and infrastructure plans, please contact us to discuss your next project.
