Industry reaction: The Chancellor’s Spring Budget

Jeremy Hunt’s first Budget announcement included some headline grabbing commitments on energy plans, most notably the pledge to keep the Energy Price Guarantee in place for an additional three months until June, but many in the industry were disappointed that energy efficiency and climate change were not better represented in the chancellor’s vision of Britain’s future.

Here we round up comment from business leaders and green groups, who render their verdicts.

E.ON Chief Executive Michael Lewis:

“I am frustrated that new funding to support energy demand reduction is missing from today’s budget, as we all know energy efficiency is the best investment for the country when households are struggling: it makes homes more comfortable, relieves pressure on our health service, cuts energy costs, grows the economy with new green collar jobs, and contributes to net zero on a sustainable basis.”

Simon McWhirter, director of external affairs & deputy chief executive at UKGBC

“Energy efficiency remains a key missing piece of the green economy puzzle. The scale of our climate emergency requires investment of at least £6 billion a year to comprehensively upgrade home energy efficiency across the UK, supported by more creative solutions like an energy-saving stamp duty incentive.”

Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders:

“It was disappointing that measures to improve the energy efficiency of our homes didn’t feature in this Budget. It is one of the most pressing issues and could result in a huge boost in jobs and economic activity at the local level. We had seen small measures rolled out in the last Budget and had hoped the government would embrace retrofit as a major long-term infrastructure project but this opportunity has been lost.”

Russell Dean, Mitsubishi Electric residential product group director

“As many businesses plan to remove gas from their buildings over the next few years, and heat pumps are recognised as the future of both commercial and home heating in Britain, it is vital the government supports wider adoption of the technology. To encourage this, we would have liked to have seen a commitment to roll over unspent money from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for families to insulate their homes and install the technology.”

David Cowdrey, director of external affairs for MCS

“If energy security really is a priority, then why has the Budget failed to invest further in domestic renewables? The Chancellor has allocated £20 billion to unproven carbon capture and storage measures, rather than invest in the renewables industry and energy efficiency measures available now. The government must focus on decarbonising our existing housing stock, which is poorly insulated and too reliant on fossil fuels. There also needs to be a long-term commitment to building well-insulated new homes that are not connected to the gas grid and have heat pumps, solar and battery storage as standard.”

Ross Matthewman, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Chartered Institute of Environmental Health

“We are disappointed that the Chancellor appears to be taking his foot off the pedal in his Spring Statement. By failing to bring forward planned spending on energy efficiency measures, he has missed a golden opportunity to both reduce energy bills and decarbonise the housing sector.”

Mike Childs, head of policy at Friends of the Earth

“Jeremy Hunt’s budget falls far short of the urgent need to address both the cost of living and climate crises. Backing expensive technologies like carbon capture, and storage and a new nuclear programme, while still blocking cheap onshore wind in England and failing to properly insulate the UK’s energy leaking homes, will leave the UK hooked on high energy costs and falling behind in the global race to benefit from the transition to greener economies.”

Luke Murphy, associate director for energy and climate at IPPR

“The budget failed to provide enough substance to deliver the medium to long-term solution to high energy bills – an accelerated rollout of renewables, energy efficiency, and clean heat. The announcement on industrial carbon capture and storage is welcome, though we await the detail. But the government has been warned repeatedly of the risks of failing to meet its climate targets or to reap the benefits of delivering net zero, including by its own advisers. There is a global race to the top in reaching net zero, and the UK now risks falling seriously behind our competitors.

“The government needs to learn the lessons from the US and Europe, ramp up public investment and bring forward a green industrial strategy, safeguarding our economy and environment for the future.”

Martyn Bridges, director of technical services at Worcester Bosch

“We welcome the Chancellor’s three-month extension of the £2,500 price cap to reduce financial pressures on UK households.

“However, this is only a temporary measure. We were hoping to see a national grant scheme encouraging homeowners to insulate their properties and increase energy efficiency. A solution that would reduce energy usage and costs for the long-term.

“But given cost-of-living, homeowners will generally struggle to consider property improvements. This could also have a knock-on effect on our road to decarbonised home heating, as more efficient homes are suited for low carbon technology. We hope to see further commitment and measures from Government in supporting homeowners in increasing their EPC Ratings in the near future.”