Press Room
Energy efficiency developments in Pre-Budget Report need more
scope to reduce fuel poverty and encourage low-carbon
growth
If you are writing on yesterday's announcement in the Pre-Budget
Report on low-carbon growth, please consider the following comment
from Nathan Goode, Energy and Renewables partner at Grant
Thornton.
£200 million to improve energy efficiency and tackle fuel
poverty by offering £400 for up to 125,000 households to upgrade
their old boilers - Nathan says: "Clarification on who will qualify
for funding to improve energy efficiency is needed but measures are
also required to encourage those changing their boiler to use
energy efficiency ones or to switch altogether to mechanisms that
heat houses in more energy efficient ways."
Tax free clean energy cash back scheme on income from those
generating small scale electricity for their home - Nathan says:
"Though a positive step in encouraging energy efficiency in
the home, the tax free benefit may positively impact higher rate
tax payers more than any other group. This will therefore have a
lesser effect on reducing fuel poverty for homes which are not able
to fund home electricity generation in the first place."
Increasing support for low-carbon vehicles through exempting
electric cars from company car tax from 2010, introducing a 100 per
cent first-year allowance for electric vans; and investing a
further £30 million on low-carbon transport projects - Nathan
says: "Exempting electrical cars from company car tax next year is
an effective way to encourage the use of low carbon vehicles. It is
good to see measures in place for electric vans which tend to have
more structure around their usage than private vehicles as
businesses tend to know more about when and where they need to be.
We therefore could find more take up in electrical commercial
vehicles than those for individuals, which means more planning in
increase take up in this area should be explored."
For further information, please contact:
Stephanie Aneto, Grant Thornton press office, tel: 020 7728 2940 or
email: stephanie.aneto@gtuk.com