Feedback from business leaders, housing providers and community advocates across the North of England suggests the Chancellor’s Spending Review has been broadly welcomed as a step towards greater certainty and long-term growth. While major commitments to housing, infrastructure and skills have drawn praise, concerns remain over delivery, regional equity and the need for deeper community involvement in regeneration efforts.

Affordable Housing: A Long-Awaited Commitment

The Chancellor’s pledge to increase the Affordable Homes Programme to £3.9 billion per year over a decade has been widely welcomed across the housing and legal sectors. Housing providers say the move marks a turning point after years of underfunding.

Lee Bloomfield, Chief Executive of Manningham Housing Association in Bradford, said the measures would offer “greater financial stability for the sector,” particularly the introduction of a 10-year rent settlement. He added: “We must hope that this is the moment when the visions for positive change can finally be transformed into reality.”

Namita Matkar of Mills & Reeve echoed that sentiment, calling the announcements a “catalyst for the development of more affordable housing,” especially in the North. However, she also flagged the omission of clear support for building safety: “A lack of certainty around this within the spending review is a missed opportunity for the social housing sector.”

RICS CEO Justin Young was similarly supportive: “This 10-year programme does just that,” referring to long-needed clarity for planning and delivery. He urged that the “right enabling conditions” must now follow, including planning reform and workforce investment.

Infrastructure and Regional Investment: Promises Must Become Action

The commitment to regional infrastructure funding, including £15bn across transport and clean energy, received strong endorsement, particularly from northern business groups. But the emphasis remains on delivery, not just announcement.

Bradford’s potential to benefit from reforms to the Treasury’s Green Book rules was singled out by Lee Bloomfield, who said: “The people of Bradford district have heard similar promises from previous Governments, and many will be understandably sceptical.”

The British Chambers of Commerce noted the scale of commitments – including to Sizewell C, carbon capture, and the Acorn Project – but called for more on the replacement for the Shared Prosperity Fund. “Broad access to this scheme will be essential,” said Alex Veitch.

Community-Led Regeneration Gains Recognition

The creation of a new fund to support 350 of the UK’s most deprived neighbourhoods has been welcomed by Local Trust, which has long argued that tackling deep-rooted deprivation requires long-term, community-led investment.

Madeleine Jennings, Head of Policy and Communications at Local Trust, said: “The Chancellor has recognised the importance of pride in place and that many communities around the country have seen that pride decline.”

Drawing on learning from the Big Local programme, she added: “Agency and a belief in collective efficacy are just as important... which is why we will continue to work with the government to ensure this new programme puts communities themselves in charge of decision making.”

Local Trust warned that the government’s missions will only succeed if they work in areas suffering from a combination of material deprivation and weak social infrastructure, and urged ministers to ensure that community-led approaches are embedded in the fund’s delivery.

“At a time of difficult decisions, the Chancellor’s decision to invest in social infrastructure in deprived areas is testament to the powerful evidence in favour of long-term investment in community capacity,” said Jennings.

Business Investment: Stability Still Elusive

Although infrastructure, R&D and skills funding were seen as positives, business groups warned that investment conditions remain uncertain without a clearer long-term tax and regulation framework.

Anna Leach of the Institute of Directors praised infrastructure priorities but noted a real-terms fall in capital investment: “A strong and coherent plan to drive business investment is needed.” She emphasised that policy stability and improvements to regulation, energy costs and global market access are essential for private sector confidence.

The CBI agreed that the review represented a “downpayment on hardwiring the growth mission,” but warned that businesses are “labouring under the cumulative burden of rises in NICs and Minimum Wages.” CEO Rain Newton-Smith also urged the government to avoid fuelling “tax rumours and speculation” ahead of the Autumn Budget.

Economic Libertarians Sound Warning on Public Spending and Tax

Not all reactions to the Spending Review were positive. The Institute of Economic Affairs issued a strong critique of the government's approach, arguing that it failed to meet its own promises of fundamental spending reform.

Tom Clougherty, Executive Director at the IEA, said: “For all the preceding rhetoric, it is very clear that no 'zero-based' review of government spending actually took place for this Spending Review.”

He questioned the productivity of increased NHS spending and criticised the absence of structural public service reform: “To spend less, government must do less – and employ fewer people. It isn't clear that message has got through.”

Clougherty also cast doubt on the decision to redirect capital investment away from London and the South East, suggesting it could reduce overall economic returns. He warned: “This Spending Review did nothing to address the supposed 'fiscal black hole' that exists against the Chancellor's fiscal rules. So we should brace ourselves for tax increases in the Autumn.”

Skills and Workforce: Investment Applauded, Delivery Key

The review’s commitment to skills, including £1.2bn annually for apprenticeships, was warmly received, especially in relation to large-scale infrastructure goals.

“Too many times in the past, big infrastructure projects have been beset by inefficiencies,” said Alex Veitch of the BCC. “If we are to build on a greater scale across the whole country then we need a pipeline of new planners, carpenters, architects, technicians and construction workers.”

RICS also stressed the importance of aligning ambitions with capacity, calling for a skilled workforce and a reformed planning system to support housing delivery.

Trade Unions Welcome Public Sector Investment, Urge Tax Reform

The TUC described the Spending Review as a necessary corrective after years of austerity, praising the Government for what it called a vital investment in services, jobs and national renewal.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “After over a decade of Conservative chaos, rebuilding and repairing Britain was never going to be easy – but this Government is on the right track.”

Welcoming funding for the NHS, schools, infrastructure and decent homes, Nowak added: “Funding for key infrastructure like Sizewell C, transport and decent homes is how you secure good jobs and deliver industrial revival up and down the country.”

He warned, however, that investment must be sustained and called for a rethink on welfare changes impacting disabled workers: “Ministers must rethink welfare cuts which will hit many disabled workers and make it harder for them to access work.”

On taxation, Nowak said the Government was right to close loopholes for private schools and non-doms, but urged it to go further: “Looking forward, ministers must build on this and ensure those with the broadest shoulders pay their fair share – it's what the public wants and will raise vital funds to rebuild our country.”

Digital Government and Tax Reform: Tentative Progress

While receiving less attention, the £1.6 billion settlement for HMRC to modernise its digital systems was highlighted by the CBI as a crucial step: “We want to see this significant settlement for HMRC used to resource, simplify and digitise their operations.”

Conclusion: A Promising Start, But Scepticism Remains

Across sectors, the Spending Review has been acknowledged as a step towards a more investment-led strategy, particularly in housing, infrastructure and skills. But with many details deferred to the forthcoming Industrial Strategy and Autumn Budget, key stakeholders are calling for greater clarity and delivery to match the ambition.

“The innovation, investment and jobs necessary for significant growth will come from business, not Whitehall,” said Rain Newton-Smith. “The government must pull all the levers it can to unlock investment.”