Following the Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spending Review – which included announcements of £2bn into AI and £1.2bn into apprenticeships and training, increased investment in housing, nuclear power, the NHS and Defence – Yorkshire leaders have reacted.
South Yorkshire’s mayor Oliver Coppard said: “Today we saw the government lay out their spending plans for the next three years. I’ve been working closely with the government for nearly a year to get to this point, to tackle the challenges we face and take advantages of the opportunities in front of South Yorkshire. There’s some good news, but still work to do.
“On transport, I negotiated a £1.5 billion investment in our public transport network which means new buses and new trams, connecting our communities. I was pleased to see the Chancellor reconfirm her support for our plans to reopen Doncaster-Sheffield Airport. With the government’s backing, we’ll take a final decision in summer.
“The Chancellor also reaffirmed the government’s support for defence, committing £426m for Forgemasters in Sheffield, protecting 700 skilled jobs and creating 900 construction jobs, offering a vote of confidence in South Yorkshire as a leading defence cluster in the UK.
“We saw a massive £39bn for housing nationally which will mean more homes being built here, particularly more social homes. There’s £30m for an Innovation Accelerator which will help us grow the industries of the future right here. Announcements on health, education and training will also make a big difference to communities across Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.
“I was pleased to see the Chancellor confirm our Integrated Settlement, giving us more local control over spending decisions and public services from April 2026.
“Less positively, we didn’t hear anything about new money for South Yorkshire Police, which is disappointing, so I will keep on pressing the government for the funding we need to keep our communities safe.
“But we’ve not seen the whole picture today. Next week, we’ll hear about the government’s plans for infrastructure, and I’ll be looking for a response to the proposals we put forward through the White Rose Agreement’s Yorkshire’s Plan for Rail, and support for some of our key industrial strengths, including our steel and hydrogen sectors.
“Overall, this is good news for South Yorkshire and for the North. We’re finally beginning to see the type of investment we’ve been denied for too long; a rebalancing of our economy and long-term commitments to addressing the challenges that hold our economy back.”
Transport for the North chief executive Martin Tugwell said: “We are very pleased with the extra investment in the North’s transport infrastructure and services that has been announced.
“An extra £3.5 billion for the TransPennine Upgrade, support for the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, and a four-fold increase in local transport grants are all very welcome, especially after last week’s announcement of billions for city region transport schemes.
“We are also pleased to see more support for bus services, including the extension of the fare cap, and franchising pilots in York & North Yorkshire and Cheshire.
“And we look forward to seeing the 10-year Infrastructure Strategy, including how Northern Powerhouse Rail will be progressed, later this month. The economy of the North is constrained by its creaking Victorian rail infrastructure; investment in new rail capacity is long overdue to unlock the region’s growth potential. “
Lee Bloomfield, chief executive of Manningham Housing Association, said: “For far too long, housing associations have faced an impossible task in trying to provide enough decent homes for those who need them with insufficient Treasury support.
“The Chancellor’s decision to increase spending on the Affordable Homes Programme from £2.3 billion a year to £3.9 billion a year and extend the length of the scheme from five years to 10 years delivers resources to build many more properties and offers greater financial stability for the sector.
“Similarly, the 10-year rent settlement which will see social housing rents rise by CPI plus 1% annually, allows housing associations to plan ahead with much greater confidence.
“I also welcome the Chancellor’s decision to reform the Treasury’s Green Book rules which will enable the Government to invest bigger sums outside of the South East and into areas such as Bradford and Keighley.
“In the past week, Rachel Reeves has announced funding to replace Bradford Interchange with a new bus station, as well as the capital to finally deliver a mass transit system for West Yorkshire.
“The people of Bradford district have heard similar promises from previous Governments, and many will be understandably sceptical.
“In the year when Bradford is in the spotlight as UK City of Culture 2025, we must hope that this is the moment when the visions for positive change can finally be transformed into reality.”
The mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith said: “Today’s Spending Review brought some welcome investment to York and North Yorkshire – including a commitment to York Central and a bus franchising pilot. Across the country, this is a long overdue commitment to improving people’s lives, with investments in affordable housing, schools and our NHS.
“York and North Yorkshire have got behind devolution and people across our region are counting on us to deliver. To make a credible case for devolution this government needs to show it is serious about rural and coastal areas. These announcements fall well short of what we need to deliver the full ambitions we have in our region – better transport, better jobs, and opportunities for everyone.
“I know that people across our region are counting on us to deliver, and we’re determined not to let today’s announcements slow us down.
“We’ll make every pound work hard for our communities. And we’ll keep working with government to demand the funding and support our region deserves.
“This government had a real chance to show it was serious about rural and coastal areas – but it missed it. We need real investment in our transport infrastructure and our communities to unlock our region’s full potential and ensure that every place can thrive.
“Next week, when major infrastructure funding is announced there is an opportunity for the Government to demonstrate their commitment to improving connectivity in York and North Yorkshire and across the North.
“Only then will devolution truly deliver the change our region deserves. And we won’t stop pushing until we get it.”
Polly Dhaliwal, COO of Enterprise Nation, said: “The Spending Review is a very clear indication of the government’s key priorities, so to see a £2bn commitment to boost AI skills and a £1.2bn boost to apprenticeships and training is excellent to see.
“The path to widespread digital adoption and AI use remains critical to our economy if our nation is to remain resilient and compete in a complex global marketplace.
“Small businesses need access to a high-aspiration national programme of support to equip SMEs with AI tools, skills and guidelines to boost confidence and productivity, such as Google’s AI Works. It demonstrates the power and expertise that working with private sector can offer in upskilling the nation’s SME community in the digital space, whilst delivering savings to the tax payer.
“Extra support for exporting is good to see – but it must not come at the expense of supporting small businesses to succeed at home.
“Enterprise Nation believes that a thriving SME sector not only fuels economic growth but also creates more prosperous and resilient communities. The success of small businesses is woven into the fabric of our society, and it is our duty to support them in every way possible.
“That’s why we also welcome the Chancellor’s new Trailblazer Neighbourhoods project which offers a boost to deprived high streets and communities – but we’d like to see this rolled out more widely.
“We’re pleased to see increases to the British Business Bank budgets – but we also note a chunky decrease in day-to-day spending for the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). We hope this won’t mean a decrease in support for small businesses at the time when they need it the most. Understanding more about the impact of these cuts will hopefully be clarified when the Industrial Strategy and the Small Business Strategy are published later this year.”
West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin said: “The chancellor inherited a terrible hand from the previous government and has taken some really difficult decisions to fix the public finances.
“She has resisted the temptation to make popular short-term decisions, by focusing on long-term investments in infrastructure to help boost economic growth, including our long-awaited project to bring trams back to the streets of Leeds and Bradford.
“This ambition must now be matched in next week’s infrastructure plan with a firm commitment to vital projects set out in Yorkshire’s plan for rail, including a new city centre through station in Bradford and action to address congestion at Leeds, which is the busiest in the North.
“Long gone are the days when London and the South hog the majority of the nation’s transport spending. I believe this government gets it and will illustrate that by continuing to work in partnership with mayors to renew Britain, backing areas that have been neglected by Westminster for decades and doing right by working people.”
David Whitehouse, Offshore Energies UK CEO, said: “The Chancellor was right to say that energy security is national security and also to recognise the need to reduce reliance on overseas oil and gas. Domestic production is the path to energy security and economic growth.
“The support for the next phase of carbon storage projects in Scotland and Humberside is welcome, and an important step towards final investment decisions later in this parliament. Together Viking and Acorn have the potential to unlock over £25 billion of investment by 2035, creating over 30,000 jobs at peak construction.
“These projects will provide the pathway to support the decarbonisation of UK industries and are critical to the government’s clean power objectives. We will continue to work with government to detail the long-term support required to deliver these projects and unlock the UK’s wider CCS ambitions
“We agree with the chancellor that it matters where we make things and who makes them. Homegrown energy production which will protect security and jobs, must be at the heart of our industrial strategy.”
Tina McKenzie, policy chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said: “Small businesses will be wondering when they will feel the benefits of today’s Spending Review. It was not the business-focused day they had hoped for.
“As spending allocations were announced, decisions over how that money would support small businesses were not included. Increased Statutory Sick Pay came without help for small businesses to afford it; extra money for housing and defence came without a commitment to include small firms in the supply chain; new energy efficiency funding for households came without equivalent help for small business premises.
“The one major bright spot for small firms today was the significant increase in resources to the British Business Bank, which FSB campaigned for in advance of today’s statement and which we welcome. This should see far more finance flowing to local businesses up and down the country.
“With headline departmental funding allocated, the challenge now passes to each and every government department to be strategic with their spending over the next three years – using every taxpayer pound to get the most value, stimulate the economy, and spread jobs and growth. SMEs should get a far greater share of public contracts, and big businesses which treat their smaller suppliers poorly should be banned from winning them.
“Small business confidence is already languishing at levels comparable to the energy bills crisis, while job numbers in small businesses are falling fast, so bold, concerted action is needed. You can’t grow the economy and tax revenues without growing small businesses.
“Small firms were not the focus today, but the second half of 2025 now becomes a crunch period for SME-focused growth reforms. Ministers must buckle down on this over the summer and through to the autumn, putting small businesses at the heart of the Industrial, Trade and Small Business Strategies. This includes addressing business rates, Employment Allowance expansion and Statutory Sick Pay in the autumn Budget, and proper legislative reform in the King’s Speech.
“The benefits will only come if the Government takes these challenges seriously through to the autumn.”
