The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) has welcomed the announcement in the chancellor’s Autumn Statement of a new Energy Efficiency Taskforce (EETF).
The EETF aims to drive improvements in energy efficiency to reduce the UK’s energy consumption from buildings and industry and to bring down bills for all.
The BMF has been calling for a long-term National Retrofit Programme to upgrade 29 million UK homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run. With the government committing £12.6bn in funding- including an additional £6bn from 2025 – the EETF has an ambition to reduce the UK’s energy consumption from buildings and industry by 15% by 2030.
John Newcomb, BMF’s CEO, said: “Soaring energy bills have focused attention on the need to insulate our homes. The chancellor has had to make difficult decisions to support our economy, but we are extremely delighted that he has responded to this key issue raised by our industry, which will have economic benefits as well as meeting commitments on carbon reduction made at the COP26 climate conference.
“BMF members are already providing the materials, products and solutions required to create low carbon, energy efficient homes. We are ready to work with the new taskforce and the wider construction industry to make retrofit a success.”