Chancellor must build on the foundations of his Spring Statement.

Commenting on the 2022 Spring Statement, Chief Executive of NFRC, James Talman said:

"I am delighted to see that the government has listened to our calls as an industry to promote the installation of energy efficiency measures by slashing VAT to zero per cent, on technologies including rooftop solar and roof insulation. It is encouraging to see the government invest in minimising heat loss and creating clean energy to power our homes.

"However, we need to go further to deliver significant emissions reductions and achieve net zero by 2050. Our homes account for 35 per cent of the UK’s energy use and emit 20 per cent of its carbon dioxide emissions. We urge the government to adopt the Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC) National Retrofit Strategy, which offers a comprehensive long-term plan to make our homes greener and get on track to reach net zero. 

"The Chancellor has also promised today that his Autumn Budget will include a cut to tax on capital investment by businesses. In order to support UK businesses to invest whilst delivering on net zero targets, we urge him to create a Green Annual Investment Allowance, which would allow investors and building owners to reclaim the tax on any green investment in commercial and industrial buildings, such as improving the energy efficiency of roofs. The longer we take to retrofit our existing building stock, the harder that task becomes—we need to see the Chancellor take leaps towards greener buildings.

"The construction industry along with many others will welcome the Chancellor’s announcement that fuel duty will be cut by five pence per litre, giving businesses help to continue operating amid rampant price increases. Whilst NFRC and the wider industry greatly supports efforts to increasingly power our industry with cleaner energy, we welcome moves to support businesses through this particularly challenging period."