The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon John Healey MP addressed the House of Commons today (28 October 2026) to deliver his first Budget speech, and the first fiscal measures of the new Burnham Government. 

The Autumn Budget 2026 avoids broad-based tax increases while introducing targeted cost-of-living relief, including a £2.6 billion Household Energy Payment and extensions to the VAT cut on electricity and freezes fuel duty.

The budget emphasises long-term investments in clean power, housing developments, artificial intelligence, and national security to foster regional growth and sustainable public finances.

The full financial statement is available to read here.   

The following announcements from the Autumn Budget 2026 relevant to the highways and transportation sector can be found below:

• VED rates for cars, vans and motorcycles will be uplifted in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) from 1 April 2027.
• Fuel duty rates will continue to be frozen and planned RPI inflation increase will not rise until 1 July 2027.
• Creation of an EV tariff porting taskforce
• Funding to reduce the cost of local, lower powered public chargers across Great Britain
• Extend the temporary 3.7p-per-litre red diesel duty cut for a further six months
• A rail infrastructure cost review chaired by Rachel Skinner CBE, reporting in six months.
• Appointing an external chair to BIST’s Commercial Innovation Hub to accelerate efforts to drive innovation through public procurement.
• A new National Procurement Policy Statement will be laid in Parliament in March 2027 and new guidance on applying social value in central government procurement
• Publication of an updated Infrastructure Pipeline before the end of the year
• Accelerating the development and adoption of quantum-enabled technologies across key sectors, including includes new methods for detecting defects in bridges to reduce delays in the transport system. 
• Creation of skills targets of at least 3% for apprenticeships on large government infrastructure and construction projects.
• Funding the expansion of the Leeds College of Building to accommodate over 2,000 new learners, using £28 million for priority projects in West Yorkshire Combined Authority, West of England Combined Authority, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA).
• A governmental response to the Milburn and the Timms Review will be published before the end of this year. A White Paper will follow early in 2027 ahead of legislation later that year.
• An additional £1.3 billion in Barnett formula funding between 2026–27 and 2029–30 for Scotland (£600m), Wales (£450m), and Northern Ireland (£270m).
• Bringing Mayors into the Business Rates Retention system from 2027-28 and providing them with a share of income tax from 2028-29, as well as enabling strategic authorities to introduce visitor levies with local leaders able to set out plans for how revenues will be invested by March 2028.
• The government confirms it is in the final stages of agreeing new devolution agreements with 10 areas. Final arrangements will be confirmed in due course, subject to agreement with local areas.

CIHT looks forward to continuing to work with HM Treasury, the Department for Transport, and the wider UK Government to ensure the nation’s transport networks work for all our futures and delivers environmentally, economically, and socially.  

For more information on the Autumn Budget 2026, please contact CIHT Public Affairs Manager Liberty Hibberd e: liberty.hibberd@ciht.org.uk