ENERGYEFFICIENCY
Industry body calls for tax changes to boost green retrofits
A report by the UK Green Building Council has called for incentives including reduced council tax bills or stamp duty to encourage up to 1.5 million home energy retrofits each year and boost the government’s Green Deal programme. The report, Retrofit Incentives: Boosting the take-up of energy efficiency measures in domestic properties, says that such measures would contribute hundreds of millions of pounds to the UK economy each year, as well as reducing emissions from buildings. The report follows statistics released last month showing the government’s Green Deal aimed at increasing energy efficiency, has received a poor response. Paul King, chief executive of the UK Green Building Council, said: “There are some tough political choices to be made, not least in using the tax regime to nudge householders into action, but the opportunities for UK Plc are just so great, that this is a nettle which needs to be grasped.” The report says that a variable stamp duty regime could give homebuyers a discount if a property beats a level of energy efficiency, or higher rates for poor performing buildings. It claimed that such a scheme could deliver between 135,000 and 270,000 additional retrofits per year. It also said that council tax rates could be varied according to the energy efficiency of a property, which could deliver between 518,000 and 1,481,000 additional retrofits a year. Source: Solar Power Portal
VAT cut can succeed where Green Deal is failing
Reducing VAT to 5 per cent on energy efficiency improvement work would help more households than Green Deal finance can, said the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in response to the latest statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). 38,259 Green Deal assessments have been carried out, but only four Green Deal plans have so far been signed. Research commissioned by the FMB shows cutting VAT to 5 percent on energy-efficient glazing and boiler replacements could result in an additional 57,668 households with both measures installed by 2020. Brian Berry, the Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “These latest Green Deal statistics show the scheme is attracting some interest. However, there are disappointingly few households actually using Green Deal finance to pay for the work.” Berry continued: “Green Deal finance was supposed to bring about a dramatic increase in the number of people improving the energy efficiency of their property by removing the upfront cost, but the complexity of the scheme and the high interest rate is severely limiting the number of households that see the Green Deal as relevant. Instead reducing VAT on energy-efficiency improvement work would create a real incentive and allow small, local firms to carry out the work, which they are currently struggling to win under the Green Deal.” Berry concluded: “Government is doing its best to portray the Green Deal as a success, but it’s now time for honest debate on how to inspire greater uptake.”
Green Deal backed by industry experts
The National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers (NAPIT) and Easy Green Deal have both urged industry to hold faith in the Green Deal.
The companies have been vocal in their support for the policy and offered advice to householders and tradesmen in the potential energy and financial savings that can be made under the policy. More than 40,000 energy saving assessments have been performed as part of the Green Deal policy since it was launched in October 2012 by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). However, there is still a long way to go for the Green Deal to facilitate its target of 14 million homes being accredited by 2020. Thomas Farquhar, marketing manager at Easy Green Deal said making more homes in the UK comply with the Green Deal was a long term aim and that the market for it could yet grow exponentially. Farquhar was keen to stress that if more tradesmen took the steps to get Green Deal certified, it could lead to more awareness among customers as well as potentially improved profits for certified tradesmen.” NAPIT director of standards, David Cowburn concluded: “Considering that 46% of properties in England currently have a band D EPC ratin ���ѡ�͔��хѥ�ѥ�́�ɽ��
�ɕ���䁑��������ٽ�յ�́����Ёѡ����ѕ�ѥ������ѡ��ɕ��������ѡ���ٕ�ݡ��������յ��ȁ����ɽ���ѥ�́ѡ�Ё�����Ѽ���������ɝ䁕��������䁥��ɽٕ����̰�����ѡ����ѕ�ѥ�����ȁѡ��ͅ��́Ѽ�������Ё�����������ѽ���t�M��ɍ��M���ȁA�ݕȁA��х�((��()U�����()Q��ɕ�����ɔ��٥ͥЁ��ܹ�����٥�ܵլ����((0