IEMA Response to Budget 2017: A series of missed opportunities, but good news for tech skills

Our response to a largely disappointing UK Budget for 2017.

Following today’s 2017 Budget by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, IEMA’s Chief Policy Advisor has expressed his disappointment in the number of missed opportunities. However, he did welcome the coming investment in new T Level technical qualifications which will support the development of a future workforce that will be responsible for low carbon innovations.

Martin Baxter said this afternoon:

“While we knew this wouldn’t be a radical budget, it’s really surprising how little space and funding the Chancellor dedicated to environment and sustainability. I could say it’s disappointing, but in reality it means we’ve seen a number of missed opportunities for Government to tackle some big sustainability challenges.

“Scrapping the levy control framework without a clear plan of what will replace or supersede it is a real concern; failure to provide clarity will raise significant uncertainty for investment in renewable energy.

“Despite the many oversights, we do welcome the investment on tackling urban congestion as this can potentially underpin improvements to the UK’s air quality, but this must be focused on areas suffering from the highest levels of pollution.

“The introduction of new T Level qualifications to boost uptake of technical skills is a positive move. This will open up new opportunities for young people who are seeking future-fit careers in STEM-related professions, and will contribute to the UK’s low carbon economy.”

Click here to read the full Budget and the Chancellor’s speech.