Hundreds of thousands of homeowners will receive
vouchers of up to £5,000 for energy-saving home improvements, the chancellor is
expected to announce this week.
Rishi Sunak is due to set out a £2bn grant scheme in England for projects
such as insulation as part of a wider £3bn plan to cut carbon emissions.
The Treasury said the grants could help to support more than 100,000 jobs.
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB)
said: “This is very good news, signalling both an important step towards
building back better and greener, and a vote of confidence for local builders
up and down the country. This will protect jobs in construction, and create new
opportunities.
“We must ensure that all the new entrants to the industry receive proper
training or apprenticeships, to guarantee that energy efficiency home
improvements are delivered by quality tradespeople.
“To secure local growth and level-up across the country, local builders are
ideally placed to deliver the work and the scheme must be accessible to small
and medium-sized firms (SMEs). The FMB has been calling for a national retrofit
strategy and this step today will help give the boost to consumer confidence
that will be needed.
“We will push for additional steps such as the development of green finance
to support the further development of the strategy, and for the full £9.2
billion pledged in the manifesto to be brought forward. We hope in his
statement tomorrow, the Chancellor gives added support to the sector with a
temporary cut in VAT, support for apprenticeship delivery, and SME house
builders.”
