Everyone in construction across the UK held their breath at around lunchtime on Wednesday as George Osborne delivered his autumn statement. Broadly speaking, even with his various political rabbits pulled from his hat, there was not much for Welsh contractors or the wider supply chain to worry about that we were not already aware of.

The big news remains the commitment to infrastructure – hence why at CEW we are focussing hard on how to frame the targets for the Wales Infrastructure Forum backed by Jane Hutt the Minister for Finance and Government Business, a few weeks ago. Whilst we need to examine the detail closely, it looks (on paper anyway) like the UK government is backing Wales. The statement says it is making “funding available for infrastructure investment via the block grant through to 2020-21 (that) will rise by 16%, meaning over £900 million more than if it had been held at 2015-16 levels.” The statement goes on to say: “The government is working with the Cardiff Capital Region and the Welsh Government to deliver an ambitious City Deal for Cardiff. The Spending Review announces an in principle commitment to contribute to an infrastructure fund for the Cardiff region.”

So, like many other groups who made statements on Wednesday afternoon we broadly welcome the commitment to infrastructure capital spend to vital infrastructure projects such as HS2, the Northern Powerhouse and London wide transport. That level of certainty allows the construction industry to plan for the future to deliver strategic projects in an innovative and efficient manner – which is exactly what we need to do in Wales now.

Looking at the stories in our newsletter this week it is clear there is an appetite from developers and contractors to innovate and build great schemes. Let’s get on and do it!