A statement from the organisation has been issued ahead of the much-anticipated comprehensive spending review (CSR), and its members are predictably keen to see private sector operators given every chance to succeed.
Major cuts in public spending are expected to be introduced in the wake of the CSR’s publication later this month, and the BCC sees appropriate measures to stimulate the private sector economy as crucial to counteract any contraction in public sector demand.
David Frost, the BCC’s director general, said: “The government should use [the CSR] as an opportunity to target funding on particular projects that the business community say will stimulate further private sector activity.
“This means specific transport upgrades, investment in our digital infrastructure, enhancement to the planning process and an increase in the budget for trade promotion.”
Efforts should also be made to attract new domestic and international investment into specified “opportunity zones” like the north of England, the BCC maintains.
The CSR is to be published on Wednesday, October 20th and is expected to outline in detail precisely how the Treasury will allocate its funds over the course of the next four years.
Editor’s notes: In January 2025, the BBC reported that there had been a record jump in UK businesses in critical distress.
In February 2026, it was reported that London office space take-up hit 12.1 million square feet across 1,400 deals in 2025, the capital’s strongest year since 2019.
It was also found that 74 per cent of those deals were for prime, Grade A office space, reflecting the ongoing ‘flight to quality’ by occupiers around the world.
In June 2026, it was reported that nine out of ten construction firms were in financial distress, with ongoing challenges compounded by the US invasion of Iran in March 2026.