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NOVEMBER 2014 PRO INSTALLER
PRO REGS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Get Britain Building
Endorsed by GGF
Nigel Rees, GGF Group Chief Executive attended the launch of the Get Britain
Building 2020 Delivery Plan, which makes the case for using construction
as a driver of jobs and growth and includes a range of recommendations
for the next Government, covering the period 2015 to 2020.
At the launch, which
took place in September, it was mentioned
that the Construction
Industry is bigger in
revenue than the aerospace and car industries added together,
and the campaign and
this latest report has
gained cross-party
support.
The 2020 Delivery Plan
outlines how best to deliver
new housing and infrastructure projects that would
result in 200,000 new jobs
in the construction sector
- according to the industry’s leading organisations
including the Glass and
Glazing Federation.
As a co-signatory of the
Get Britain Building Cam-
paign, the GGF joins the
Modern Masonry Alliance,
Federation of Master Builders, Home Builders Federation and Builders Merchants
Federation, who represent
the major players in the
construction and housing
industry.
Nigel Rees said, “It’s important for the GGF to get fully
behind an industry wide
LATEST GREEN
DEAL REPORT
NO SURPRISE
The GGF expressed no great surprise
at The Energy and Climate Change
Committee’s report into the Green
Deal, in which they brand the policy a
“disappointing failure”. The Committee qualified their comment by adding that the cost to customers was
too high, and the terms of the deal
created uncertainty for providers.
A combination of financial, communication
and behavioural barriers has meant that the
Green Deal has been slow to attract customers. Green Deal finance is, in principle, an
attractive proposition, but the high interest
rates attached to the loan were putting off
potential customers and many homeowners
are able to find cheaper finance mechanisms elsewhere.
DECC’s communication strategy has been
confusing and has often conflated different energy efficiency schemes. As a result,
the Government has struggled to drum up
support even amongst those households
that could benefit most from a Green Deal
loan.
Nigel Rees, GGF Group Chief Executive
commented: “Since the outset of Green Deal
and ECO, the GGF has been in talks with
Ministers and Government officials on the
problems of the scheme. Time and time
again we stressed that the Green Deal was
too complex and lacked the incentives to
make it attractive to homeowners. So this
week’s report is no surprise.”
Tim Yeo MP, Chair of the Energy & Climate
Change Select Committee said:
“Stamp duty discounts and variable council tax rates could be used to broaden the
appeal of energy efficiency improvements
and make them even more of a money saver
for households. Extra incentives certainly
need to be considered.”
To read the report and background material, use the link below;
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/
cm201415/cmselect/cmenergy/348/34802.
htm
For further information
visit www.ggf.org.uk
campaign such as ‘Get Britain Building’. We have been
involved since the launch of
the campaign in 2009 and
we completely endorse this
recent report which proposes a comprehensive range
of solid recommendations to
help growth and jobs in the
sector.”
The report is designed
to steer the Government
in 2015 to 2020 to deliver
a robust 5 year plan for
the construction industry.
The report’s core purpose
is to help the Government
meet its objectives on;
reducing unemployment,
growing local and national
economies and decreasing
carbon emissions over
the next five years and
beyond.
The Get Britain Building 2020 Delivery Plan is
available to view download
from the Get Britain Building Website http://www.
getbritainbuilding.co.uk/
default.asp
For more information
on the GGF visit
www.ggf.org.uk
BRE continued support
for University Centres
of Excellence
The BRE Trust, the
largest UK charity dedicated specifically to research and education in
the built environment,
announces it is set to
continue its investment
in Centres of Excellence at four UK-based
universities as well as
one in Brazil.
Today’s announcement
secures the future of crucial
research currently being carried out at: the BRE Centre
for Energy Utilisation, University of Strathclyde, the
BRE Centre for Fire Safety
Engineering, University of
Edinburgh, the BRE Centre
for Computational Analysis,
Cardiff University, the BRE
Centre for Integrated and
Sustainable Communities,
University of Brasilia and
the BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials ,
University of Bath
Since the BRE Trust research programme was created in 2006, it has funded
over 140 PhD studentships,
75 staff and a portfolio of
more than £40m research
which has been completed
or is currently underway.
Dr Deborah Pulle