Our reaction to the autumn budget 2024

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered the budget statement, the first budget of the new Labour government since they were elected in July.

Commenting on the chancellor’s budget statement, Roger Mortlock, chief executive of CPRE, said:

‘Rural England has suffered from chronic underinvestment for many years, yet research by the Rural Coalition demonstrates the transformative potential of our rural economy. With the right policy framework and investment, the countryside could contribute an additional £9 billion to £19 billion annually in tax revenue.’

On housing

‘We are delighted that the chancellor has set a budget of £3.1 billion to deliver affordable housing. So-called “affordable” housing is often far beyond the means of most people, however. Affordability should be defined in line with average local incomes, rather than as 80% of market value, as is currently the case. When the average price of a house in rural England is more than 16 times the average rural salary, so-called ‘affordable’ homes are often anything but.

‘£3bn of support and guarantees for small housebuilders is excellent news for an industry that is dominated by a few profit-hungry giants. Our research with the Federation of Master Builders has shown that, while big developers keep profits high, small- and medium-sized housebuilders can help to bring more genuinely affordable homes on to the market.

‘At current rates of construction, it would take almost a century to clear social housing waiting lists in rural parts of the country. Investing money from Right-to-Buy in more social housing is a welcome step in the right direction.’

On departmental budget cuts

‘We recognise that the government needs to balance its books. However, slashing Defra’s budget puts previously protected support for farmers at risk, while changing Agricultural Property relief could put farm businesses at risk. This is counter intuitive when the country faces both climate and nature crises. Farmers could be the heroes of a countryside that delivers climate and nature solutions for the nation – but they need to be paid to do so.’

On the bus fare price cap increase

‘The increased bus fare cap will see rural bus users paying higher fares for dwindling services, further driving rural inequality and harming our efforts to reach net zero by 2030. Outside towns and cities, people who can’t afford a car face social isolation as well as reduced access to education and work. Money raised by the fare cap increase should be invested in our crumbling rural public transport networks.’