The Bathroom Manufacturers Association (BMA) welcomes investment and rate reforms announced in today’s budget but warns of a missed opportunity to address the future retrofit challenge.
The £1m Annual Investment Allowance extension to March 2023 provides bathroom manufacturers an opportunity to make capital productivity investments while benefiting from tax relief.
A new business investment rates relief for green technologies, and a business rates improvement relief will encourage investments in the growth and sustainability. The BMA had previously lobbied, as part of a CBI-led action, for such business rate reform.
Despite these welcome announcements, there was one glaring omission in the form of Net-Zero details. Following a cross-industry campaign for Government commitments on a long-term retrofit strategy for UK homes, the topic was conspicuously absent from the Chancellor’s address.
Responding to the budget, BMA Chief Executive Tom Reynolds said: “We welcome the Chancellor’s announcement of additional capital investment across transport, hospitals, prisons and housing. This will not only improve our infrastructure, but will provide some encouraging market opportunity for bathroom manufacturers.
“BMA was also part of a coalition of trade bodies calling for reform of business rates head of the budget. We therefore welcome the Chancellor’s introduction of a new green investment relief and business rates improvement relief. This will benefit not only manufacturers but also our key channel partners in retail and merchanting.
“However, Bathroom Manufacturers will be very disappointed the Chancellor missed the opportunity in the Comprehensive Spending Review to put substance behind the Heat in Buildings Strategy.
“Decarbonising our 27 million existing homes, including through upgrades to bathrooms, is vital if we are to meet our national climate targets. Without coordinated action, adequately funded, home decarbonisation will be at a slower pace than necessary.”
CONTACT: Ciara Jagger, BMA Communications Manager.
01782 631619
07812181872
The Bathroom Manufacturers Association represents 53 members who manufacture bathroom products and twenty additional affiliate members, they range from SMEs to large multinational corporations. Manufacturing around the globe, BMA members all have a UK entity. They directly employ over 10,000 workers in the UK, and support hundreds of thousands more jobs in the installation and retail sectors.
Bathroom manufacturing has a significant multiplier effect, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs in the supply chain, retail and installer base. The collective sales of our membership have a retail value of £4 billion, covering an estimated 80% of the market by value. Bathroom manufacturers make a significant contribution to ‘UK plc’.