The Chancellor’s Spring Statement

The Chancellor gave his Spring Statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday 23 March.

His policy announcements included a temporary 5p cut in fuel duty for 12 months and the removal of VAT on the installation of home energy efficiency measures for five years from April 2022.

Paul Ellis, Chief Executive has responded to the Chancellor’s Spring Statement as follows,

“Ecology has been a longstanding campaigner for VAT to be slashed on insulation and other energy saving measures, so the removal of VAT is a welcome first step to help create low carbon healthy homes and reduce spiralling energy bills.

“Despite this, the Chancellor’s Spring Statement was another missed opportunity to put sustainability and green building truly at the heart of tackling the cost of living crisis and reducing our dependency on fossil fuels.

“The cost of energy efficiency improvements will still be out of reach for many, so we urgently need a National Retrofit Strategy to kickstart the retrofit revolution and make warm homes affordable for all, as well as reaching the Government’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050. 

“We’d like to see the Government deliver on a wide-ranging package to support green building including: Grant funding; stamp duty reform to incentivise creation of energy efficient homes; tightening building regulations; building the retrofit supply chain and driving the market for green finance.“

Paul’s response has been shared with a range of green sector press and regional media.