Energy efficiency ''to feature in new budget''

More needs to be done to encourage energy efficient housing according to one property expert today.

John Mason, the head of policy and communication for the National Insulation Association, said today that although the new budget is likely to include tax breaks to encourage the building of carbon neutral housing, there is still a lot that needs to be done to improve current housing.

He said: "What we are much more interested in is the existing housing stock, which is where the majority of carbon is lost."

Mr Mason also said that a good proposal that the government should announce is low council tax if you build or renovate a building so that it is energy efficient but that this is unlikely to happen in this week''s budget.

The Building a Greener Future consultation outlined reactions to the government''s target to make all new builds carbon neutral by 2016 and it ended earlier this month.


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