Commenting on the government’s Spending Review 2020, NFRC’s Chief Executive, James Talman, commented saying:

“It is very welcome that a further £320 million of funding has been committed to the Green Homes Grant for the next year, but the government has missed a trick by not extending this to have a broader scope. We do not see why the Scheme could not be extended to include solar PV, for example, which could play a big contribution in helping the UK reach its net-zero target. 

“We were also pleased to see the National Infrastructure Strategy announced, committing to £27 billion more capital spending over the next year, alongside a new National Infrastructure Bank. The government should follow this strategy up as soon as possible with a detailed pipeline of work, and engage with the supply chain in good time. 

“The Treasury is giving with one hand to the industry and taking with the other—by going ahead with Reverse Charge VAT next March. We have members who will lose hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash flow when this policy is introduced, and this will have a detrimental impact on the very companies the government expect to deliver on their infrastructure investments. The Chancellor should urgently rethink this policy.”