2026 Autumn Budget: what it means for NFRC Members

Cost pressures remain, and most other help is modest or time-limited. 

Minimum wage rises 3.9% from 1 April 2027.

• The National Living Wage goes to £13.21 an hour (about 50p more, or £910 a year gross for a full-time worker).
• The 18-20 rate is £11.27. The 16-17 and apprentice rate is £8.31.
• The accommodation offset is £11.53 a day. Most NFRC member employees earn above the minimum. But the rise pushes up pay for labourers, trainees and entry-level hires, and then the pay gaps above them.
• Employer NICs and pension contributions come on top of the £910.
• Employment costs are already the most commonly reported challenge in our State of Industry reports.

Fuel help runs out on 1 July 2027.

• The 5p fuel duty cut is extended. The planned 5p rise in January is cancelled.
• The 3.7p cut on red diesel is extended by six months. After that, red diesel duty returns to its pre-March 2022 rate.
• Diesel was over £2 a litre in October.

Tax-free mileage rates are now permanent.

• The rates are 55p a mile for the first 10,000 miles and 35p after that (up from 25p). They cover employees and self-employed people using their own car or van.

Regulation 

• Building regulations (England): No further changes this Parliament unless they relate to building safety. The government will also look at amending rules where that makes them more proportionate. Building regulations are devolved, so this doesn’t apply in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. 
• Better Regulation Executive: This is a new government body to cut red tape. It is welcome, but the sector’s progress on competence and site safety must not be treated as excessive regulation. It should prioritise simpler public sector bidding, less duplicated reporting, and a proportionality test on new rules.
• Biodiversity Net Gain exemption (England): New residential brownfield developments on sites up to 1.5 hectares are exempt. The start date is still to be confirmed. 

Housing and skills 

• Your First Home (England, from April 2027): The government lends first-time buyers 20% of the purchase price (an “equity loan”), with deposits of 2.5% to 15%. It is expected to help around 70,000 households and support 20,000 new homes. This is helpful but far from a gamechanger for a new-build housing sector that is struggling. The April 2027 start also risks buyers waiting rather than buying over the winter. 
• Local apprenticeship support (England): £100m over 2027-28 and 2028-29 expands the mayoral apprenticeship brokerage pilots from 7 to 14 areas, covering all current mayors. It offers tailored help to young people and employers, particularly SMEs. It covers mayoral areas in England only and is funded for two years. 

Small tax changes (from 6 April 2027) 

• Trading Allowance: It rises from £1,000 to £3,000, meaning that much side income is tax-free. This is a modest simplification for people with small extra earnings, not a cut for established subcontractors. 
• EMI2 share options: The limit doubles from £60,000 to £120,000. It won’t cut most firms’ costs, but it gives eligible growing businesses another way to recruit and retain staff. 

One to watch 

• Overnight visitor levy (England): Local authorities will be able to charge a levy on overnight stays. Design details are expected later, through legislation or local consultation. Contractors on away jobs would bear the cost. A work-stay exemption is important, but may be difficult to secure. 

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland 

Your First Home, the apprenticeship brokerage, the Biodiversity Net Gain exemption, the visitor levy power and the Good Growth Funds are England-only. The devolved governments get an extra £1.3bn through the Barnett formula (Scotland £600m, Wales £450m, Northern Ireland £270m). Nothing is ring-fenced for housing, skills or construction, so it’s up to each government how to spend it. The named UK-funded items for these nations are mostly non-construction. 

NFRC supplier members 

The Construction Products Association (CPA) has said the Budget falls short of addressing the immediate pressures on manufacturers and the wider industry. 

• Housebuilding: Your First Home won’t start until April 2027, so buyers and builders are likely to wait. This risks worsening the downturn, with housebuilding set to fall for a fifth consecutive year in 2027. 
• Site viability: No further building regulation changes (unless safety-related) and the Biodiversity Net Gain exemption should help small brownfield sites stack up financially. 
• Social and Affordable Homes Programme: A further £1.5bn takes it to over £40bn over 10 years. Delivery matters more than the total, and no activity is expected on the ground until 2027 Q2 at the earliest. 
• Energy costs: The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) cuts electricity bills by 20-25% for energy-intensive manufacturers. It starts in April 2027 and is backdated to 2026-27. However, it excludes many major manufacturers, particularly those reliant on gas, whose prices have risen by 300% in the last year.