Responding to the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, Stephen Marcos Jones, CEO of the Environmental Industries Commission (EIC), which represents companies large and small working in the environmental technologies and services sector, said:

“Rising inflation is the backdrop to the Chancellor’s update with the official forecast peaking at around 9% in 2022. The resulting impact – coming after what have been two extremely challenging years – means difficult times ahead for all businesses in all sectors.

“While our members’ may not be as exposed as those working in other sectors, inflation affects every organisation which is why we would have welcomed more proactive, immediate and targeted moves to alleviate current inflationary pressures on UK PLC.

“The review of UK’s approach to R&D investment, with a wider scope and promise of increased relief is welcome. We, of course, wait to see the detail, but this has the potential to unlock more innovation from the private sector while contributing to increasing productivity. We were also pleased to see VAT cut on energy-efficiency materials such as solar panels, heating pumps and roof insulation from 5% to zero for five years. This not only has the potential to cut people’s fuel bills, but help us deliver a sustainable future.

“We would have liked to have seen more measures to support longer-term Government ambitions around Net Zero and Levelling Up. The Statement was a missed opportunity to make progress in these areas and use them as drivers for economic growth and recovery.”