Gillian Charlesworth CEO at BRE responds to Spring budget 2024:

“While there was some good news today for individuals, with cuts to National Insurance and reforms to child benefit, this was not the net zero Budget the country needed. The UK urgently requires a clear, long-term plan to decarbonise our homes and buildings, and there is still a long way to go to drive the much-needed transition to clean heat.

This plan needs to involve a raft of measures, from shifting green levies from electricity to gas to encourage householders to install heat pumps, to providing guidance for local authorities so they can deliver retrofit programmes in each area of the country.

“Maintaining funding for our net zero commitments – including those related to the built environment – is crucial if we are to achieve our climate goals by 2050. It is disappointing to see that this detail was lacking from the Chancellor’s statement today.”