Amber Light for Green Budget

6 December 2006

The Construction Products Association fully supports the Chancellor’s desire to raise the energy efficiency of UK homes, but warns that if the Government is serious about climate change then it will have to do a great deal more than it announced today in the Pre-Budget report.

 We welcome the setting of a clear 10 year target for the delivery of zero carbon homes, although we do need to have a clear understanding of exactly what Government means by this, the nature of the stamp duty exemptions and the time frame within which they will apply.

‘Green loans to help householders upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties are one of a range of measures we recommended to the Chancellor. They provide a useful first step, but to be effective we believe that they should be part of a package of measures, including council tax discounts and reduced VAT on energy efficient products, if households are to be galvanised into action.’

Commenting on the announcements, Economics Director Allan Wilen said: ‘The Association welcomes the Chancellor’s announcement that the Comprehensive Spending Review will include a new 10 year plan for transport, based around the principles set down in the recent Eddington Review, but there is inevitably a sense of déjà vu about this. It is vital that this plan delivers far more than the last, now abandoned, Ten Year Plan, and contains targets that really will make a positive improvement to the transport network of this country.

‘Our continuing disappointment is that Government has not recognised the pressure the industry is facing with the recent increases in energy costs and continues to increase the  climate change levy and insist that those that are part of the European Emissions Trading Scheme must also pay this domestic tax. It is achieving nothing in terms of making industry more energy efficient and is only harming the competitiveness of UK firms, compared with similar industries in other parts of the world. We are also disappointed that the Chancellor has yet to recognise the inappropriateness of applying the Planning Gain Supplement to the granting of permissions for mineral extractions and we are now hoping that this is something he will remove from the scope of the planned tax by the Budget in the Spring.