New Chancellor means renewed optimism for GGF
Glass and Glazing Federation
The Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) is cautiously optimistic ahead of Wednesday’s Autumn Statement and Spending Review.
Nigel Rees, GGF Chief Executive commented, “With a new government in place and the Bonfield Report for improving energy efficiency imminent, we can have some hope that the new Chancellor will provide some long overdue good news for our industry.”
Chancellor Philip Hammond has however adopted a cautious tone on the economic outlook overall on the weekend’s television interviews. He spoke of business investment slowing down, of higher inflation on the horizon, and revealed extremely high levels of government debt. Amongst his reasons for this economic downturn, the Chancellor mentioned the “Brexit factor” saying the negotiations around the EU exit will bring "an unprecedented level of uncertainty".
Nigel Rees added, “Over the last five years under the coalition government, our industry has been left disappointed with a lack of government support to address the issue of improving energy efficiency in UK building stock. In the last budget the green agenda was absent from the list of announcements. With the formation of a new cabinet and with two government departments merging to form the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, our hope is that the new Chancellor can show more ambition and perhaps even reveal the outline of the Bonfield Report and its potential impact.”
The Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2016 will be announced on Wednesday afternoon and the GGF will be issuing a reaction to its detail shortly afterwards.
