Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement included plans to tackle the rising cost of living but, as expected, today’s announcement lacked significant measures for the housing market.
As the cost of living continues to increase, three immediate measures were introduced with the aim of helping to support households with rising prices, taxes, and bills. Fuel duty is to be cut by 5p per litre until March 2023, VAT has been scrapped on energy saving materials such as solar panels, and the Household Support Fund has also been doubled.
In addition, the Chancellor also shared plans to cut the basic rate of income tax from 20p to 19p in the pound by 2024, and declared the National Insurance threshold is to be raised by £3,000.
Following this afternoon’s announcements, our Chief Executive Officer, Jason Tebb, comments:
“Although the Chancellor didn’t deliver anything radical in the way of assistance for the housing market, the removal of VAT on the installation of solar panels, heat pumps and insulation which he said will reduce utility bills by £300 a year is a step which will help some homeowners. The rising cost of living, particularly energy and fuel bills, inflationary pressures, higher interest rates and the upcoming increase in National Insurance contributions mean households are feeling the pinch and therefore any measures to help reduce the burden are welcome.
The housing market is a vital sector when it comes to the wider economy; we witnessed during the pandemic how the stamp duty holiday provided such a boost for so many related industries.
While a return to the stamp duty holiday was never on the cards, further support for first-time buyers, measures to encourage the building of more affordable homes and a solution to the cladding crisis would also be welcome.”
