Go green on energy and pay no VAT

VAT is to be scrapped for people wanting to make their homes more energy efficient – in a victory for a Daily Express Green Britain campaign.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that homeowners having materials such as solar panels, electric heat pumps and insulation installed in the next five years would pay noVAT.

This newspaper has been calling on Mr Sunak to use the freedoms brought about by Brexit to get rid of the five per cent Value Added Tax that made the price of the energy-saving equipment unaffordable for ordinary families.

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He did that yesterday and also reversed a European Union decision and applied a zero rate.

Mr Rishi told the Commons: “A family having a solar panel installed will see tax savings worth over £1,000, and savings on their energy bill of over £300 per year.

“Homeowners who have solar panels, heat pumps and insulation installed will no longer pay five per centVAT – they will pay zero.”

The Daily Express has been calling for action to help households reduce the amount of energy they use, as bills have soared due to rising global gas prices, worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Analysis suggests that energy efficiency measures installed over the last decade will save British households £1.2billion this year, or nearly £200 on average for the six million homes which have benefited from the measures.

The Government says it has committed £6.6billion to improving energy efficiency.

MP Stephen Crabb, of the Conservative Environment Network, said: “This tax cut will mean more families can afford to insulate their home, cut their energy bills and stay warm. Insulating homes is the quickest way to help shield people from high gas prices and reduce our dependency on imported energy.”

Mr Sunak said the policy will not apply immediately to Northern Ireland due to “deficiencies” in the Northern Ireland Protocol but said the Government would be raising this with the European Commission.