The Builders Merchants Federation response to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement is that there is little direct support to the construction sector.
The Builders Merchants Federation has welcomed the announcement to make full expensing permanent in the Autumn Statement today (Wednesday 22 November), but says the government has missed an opportunity to create new jobs and boost local growth by failing to support a national retrofit strategy to improve the energy efficiency of millions of existing homes across the UK.
BMF CEO John Newcomb said: “The announcement on full expensing will be welcomed by builders' merchants and building material manufacturers along with many other businesses as they invest to expand and upgrade their facilities.
"But, beyond a pledge to reform elements of the planning system, there was little direct support for the construction sector in the main headlines of the Autumn Statement.
“We want to get Britain building again, but there was nothing in the budget relating to our number one ask, support for a national retrofit strategy. This was a missed opportunity to stimulate the repair maintenance and improvement sector, create thousands of appropriately skilled jobs and boost much-needed local growth, while at the same time helping millions of families to improve their homes’ energy efficiency and cut heating bills.
“We will continue to speak directly to government to promote the positive impact of a skilled RMI programme. Our parliamentary reception next week will focus on the work we are doing to build a workforce to deliver the low carbon solutions that are the essence of the national retrofit strategy and the impact kickstart support from government would make.”
