Clearview North January 2014 - Issue 146 | Page 50

ENERGYEFFICIENCY

CHANCELLOR MUST DELIVER ON PROMISE
TO INVEST IN BRITAIN’S HOMES
The Chancellor has missed a golden
opportunity to reverse decades of
underinvestment in Britain’s ageing housing
infrastructure by not implementing a
reduced rate of VAT on domestic renovation
and repair, leaving millions of households
powerless in the face of rising fuel bills, says
the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB,
said: “The Government continues to focus
on big-ticket projects such as road and rail,
which will be years in the planning and are
unlikely even to begin within the term of

this Parliament. The Chancellor has missed
an opportunity to reduce VAT on housing
renovation and repair.

‘A significant saving’
“Householders need more help to combat
the rising cost of heating their homes, and
lowering the rate of VAT charged on all housing
renovation and repair would do this at a stroke
– for example a 15% reduction in the rate of
VAT on insulation and double glazing would
represent a significant saving to the customer,

and empower homeowners to protect against
spiralling energy bills. Only by making your
home more efficient can you arrest, or even
reverse, the seemingly inexorable rise in the cost
of energy.”
Berry added: “Furthermore, diverting £4
billion raised annually in carbon taxes into a
mass programme of publicly funded energy
efficiency improvements would help those
who can’t afford to pay for this work up front.
Not only would this lift millions of the most
vulnerable out of fuel poverty, it could also
provide more than 70,000 new jobs by 2015.”

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PUBLIC WANTS WARMER HOMES
OVER ROAD OR RAIL SPEND
Making homes more
energy efficient is a greater
infrastructure priority for the
UK public than building HS2
or new roads, airports and
power stations. In a poll out
today, 85 per cent of adults
rank free energy efficiency
measures, which could save an
average family £500 every year,
in their top three infrastructure
priorities.
In fact, 57 per cent of people
believe it should be the UK’s
number one priority, ahead of
building new roads (15 per cent),
new power stations (15 per cent),
HS2 (3 per cent) or new airports
(2 per cent). It is an even greater
priority for younger people,
with energy efficiency for homes
coming first for around 70 per
cent of 16 to 24 year olds.

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JAN 2014

In addition, 63 per cent
of people say that, of the
infrastructure projects, it would
have the biggest benefit for them
personally, with the number rising
to over 70 per cent for those with
children and around three quarters
of those aged 35 to 44.
The poll was conducted by TNS
for the Energy Bill Revolution,
the world’s biggest fuel poverty
alliance representing over 150
British businesses, charities, energy
companies and unions.
They revealed that Government
funding for energy efficiency
measures has already been
dramatically cut, with investment
to help the fuel poor slashed in
half before the last long, bitter
winter and total spending down
by a fifth over the course of this
Parliament. The figures were

highlighted as official statistics
were released showing that 31,000
people died because of the freezing
weather last winter, a 29 per cent
increase on the previous year.
Brian Berry, Chief Executive
of the Federation of Master
Builders, said: “Energy-efficiency
improvements, unlike major road
or rail projects, are not at the
mercy of our lengthy planning
process before they can get started.
The positive impact on jobs and
growth is immediate because
energy efficient improvements to
our homes can be done right away.
If the Chancellor prioritises this
type of capital investment, he will
bring about significant economic
gains, providing additional work
for the UK’s small local builders,
who are the backbone of the
construction industry.”

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