Budget 2026: Chancellor told "Go for growth and no more taxes"
MPA calls on Govt to stimulate growth via housebuilding and infrastructure delivery now
• Construction materials sales heading for a fifth year of decline
• Sector at risk as producers report job losses and site closures
• Stimulate growth via housebuilding and infrastructure delivery now
The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has told Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey that industry cannot bear further tax increases, and has set out its ideas for growth ahead of the Autumn Budget (28th October).
In its submission to the Budget 2026, MPA highlights recent research that found the tax burden on the sector had risen by 26 per cent in just four years. During the same period sales of aggregates, concrete, asphalt and mortar have continued to decline, and the Association is urging the Chancellor to take action to stimulate growth without delay. The MPA says the Government’s reindustrialisation ambitions are already at risk from further deindustrialisation.
First of the MPA’s recommendations is to stimulate housebuilding, a key sector for producers that has seen the demand for all materials continue to fall. Housebuilding supports the Government’s continued commitment to delivering 1.5 million new homes by the end of the current term.
On infrastructure, the MPA’s Budget submission urges the Chancellor to stop shelving infrastructure projects, citing recent cancellations of road schemes as further evidence of “a long stream of projects being delayed, descoped, curtailed and ultimately cancelled.” MPA is also calling for material information to be added to NISTA’s Infrastructure Pipeline, and for increased funding into local roads to address the perpetual pothole problem.
And among the other recommendations made to the Chancellor is the need to exert greater pressure on regulators to put growth at the core of their decision-making processes, building on his predecessor’s agenda but going further and faster to remove some of the main barriers to growth.
Paul Adeleke, MPA Chief Executive, said: “The Chancellor must use this Budget to foster growth, especially in housebuilding – that’s critical for the economy as a whole but especially for our sector. In the face of four years of cumulative tax escalation, declining sales and the lowest levels of confidence in a generation, our members have been left with no option but to lay off staff and mothball their operations. This loss of jobs, skills and workplaces can be devastating for local communities, let alone the negative impact for tax revenues, future employment and overall productive capacity.
“The Chancellor recently suggested the economy is turning the corner – there’s no evidence to support this in our sector, yet. The forthcoming Budget is a chance to make that happen, and our policy recommendations are designed to be straightforward, helping deliver the growth we all want to see.”