The recent Budget has been seen as a mixed bag for the construction sector; with positive news for housebuilders, but not so great news for the green agenda, according to SIF Energy Management.
Vince Matthews, head of marketing at SIF Energy Management, said:
“The £500 million pot set aside under the Builders Finance Fund was warmly welcomed by many across the industry. Along with the extension of the Help to Buy scheme to 2020, this will provide a much-needed boost for the housebuilding industry, and will go a long way towards helping overcoming the UK’s crippling housing deficit.
“There was the distinct lack of support offered by Chancellor George Osborne to help alleviate the plight of the stricken Green Deal, and its sister scheme the Energy Companies Obligation (ECO) – ignoring vocal calls from across the industry to provide additional support.
“Despite having come under fire recently, the 160,000 Green Deal assessments carried out to date are clearly evidence that there is a definite appetite to improve the energy efficiency of the country’s building stock. Where the scheme has fallen down so far is that people simply aren’t taking these assessments forward and signing up to a Green Deal Plan.
“Through the 2014 Budget, there was the potential for Mr Osborne to commit additional resource to help boost the Green Deal and make the loans it offers more appealing to homeowners; either through reduced interest rates or providing a further boost to the cash-back scheme. In choosing not to capitalise on this opportunity, I fail to see how the scheme can even begin to pull itself out of the current slump in which it is stuck.
“Of course, the energy efficiency industry is also still facing the repercussions from the cuts made to the ECO programme, which has resulted in thousands of installers at risk from losing their jobs and smaller installation firms going out of business. While the number of measures installed through ECO has started to pick up, we are a long way away from the peak number of retrofit measures installed before the cuts in the Autumn Statement – and the impact of this is being felt across the sector.
“While the Chancellor has acknowledged the vital role energy efficiency has to play in cutting energy costs in the long term, there is little in his recent budget which shows real support for his government’s flagship green schemes. The question is, by the time the next Budget comes round, will it be too late?”