Alongside defence and benefit spending changes, it was also announced that there would be no changes to fiscal rules while the Chancellor doubled down on previous pledges.

In terms of defence, Reeves restated the government’s 2.5% GDP spending commitment by 2027 and stated that an additional £2.2 bn of funding would be allocated for the Ministry of  Defence (MOD) next year.

In the Statement, the chancellor announced that the OBR forecasts put UK GDP growth at 1.0%, a revised figure from the 2% predicted in the October Budget statement. However, predictions also went on to say that that GDP is expected to grow 1.9% in 2026 and then average at 1.75% growth over the next decade.

The OBR stated that between 2025-26 to 2029-2030, the government is projected to deliver around 1.3 million cumulative net additions to the housing stock, of which 170,000 of these were due to be from the government’s reforms to the national planning policy framework.

The chancellor also emphasised the government plans to train 60,000 more people into trades such as engineers, bricklayers and engineers — this announcement was made earlier this week.

The Chancellor made no mention of changes to aspects such as stamp-duty.

Members of the specialist finance market have given their say on the latest Spring Statement:

Paresh Raja, CEO at Market Financial Solutions:

“Overturning outdated parts of government to improve efficiency has been a major focus for Labour since the election, and planning reform was raised again as a key part of this agenda.

“However, the "get Britain building" rhetoric must now translate into tangible action – bringing in new construction workers is a positive step, as the Chancellor had already announced three days ago, but much of today's speech involved repeating the Autumn Budget's plans to encourage housebuilding.”

“Reforming the planning system is obviously important. However, investors and developers are unlikely to commit to new projects unless they see a strong and growing economy that provides long-term confidence and a return on their investment.

“The OBR forecasts were a blow in this regard, and the onus must now be on turning the corner to turbo-charge GDP growth.

"House prices are rising, inflation fell in February, and the base rate is expected to come down further this year.

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“These are all positives, highlighting that the property market remains bouyant, and this is important given how significant the sector's contribution to GDP is.

“In future statements and budgets, we need the Chancellor to focus more energy on supporting homebuyers and borrowers, which will further stimulate growth in the market."

Jeremy Leaf, estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman:

“Our first wish was granted – the Chancellor didn’t do much, if anything, to deter existing activity in the housing market.

"The first way of dealing with a problem is to recognise it and the government seems to have realised that there is a housing crisis. It has been widely accepted that affordable housing in particular is insufficient and improving planning is a significant contributor to that aim.

“Rachel Reeves said herself that it is too slow, so the extra funding announced yesterday in the social and affordable homes programme is good news, although we still need more detail of where, when and how those spades are going to be in the ground.

“We are disappointed there wasn’t more direct assistance for the private sector, particularly SMEs who cumulatively can make such a big difference to the overall problem.

“Builders won’t build unless it is profitable for them to do so and there is reasonable prospect of adequate demand for the product envisaged. It would have been good to see some recognition of this.

“It also seems a little unfair on those who have moved heaven and earth to take advantage of the stamp duty concession before it disappears but who may not make it, through no fault of their own.

“The deadline could perhaps have been extended for those transactions in solicitors’ hands from the beginning of February as a small respite. Looking forward, a broader review into the impact of stamp duty on the market and making it less of a deterrent, particularly at the first-time buyer end, would have been welcome.

“We were sorry not to see anything supporting landlords to stay in the sector because it is not just a question of keeping house prices in check but also rents, which have softened a little lately but are still too high.

“Overall, it’s a six out of ten. Could do better and hopefully this will improve to an eight out of ten in the next few months if these policies are seen to be making a contribution."