The chair of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has welcomed today’s autumn statement, predicting that the changes to permitted development rights will fuel more work for house builders and the repair, maintenance and improvement sector. If so, this would be good news for UK glazing businesses.
“In today’s autumn statement, the government is finally taking steps to support micro and SME businesses in a sector which has faced significant difficulty in recent years,” said Brian Berry, who is chief executive of the FMB. “Measures to reform the way local authorities process planning applications is good news, as are plans to help fund local authorities tackle nutrient neutrality mitigation. However, substantial increases in funding for local authority planning departments are needed if we are to see real progress.
“There were some surprising outcomes, like the changes to permitted development rights, which will bring work for house builders and the repair, maintenance and improvement sector. Buried in the details is additional support for housing associations to deliver energy efficiency improvements. This support should also be rolled out to the owner occupier sector to help improve the UK’s leaky housing stock.
“Financial support for SMEs represents another positive step, along with other announcements to boost SME growth, such as adopting digital technology. It is good to see that skills training has received a boost too, with additional funding announced to increase the number of apprenticeships.”
Read the UK chancellor’s full statement online at gov.uk. Read more about the FMB at the federation’s website.
