A year has now passed since the UK went into its first lockdown in response to the global pandemic. This has been a tragic time for so many people and here at Sheriff Construction, we would like to take a moment to let those who’ve suffered the loss of a loved one or faced other forms of hardship know they are in our thoughts.
When it comes to the economic impacts, the last twelve months has also been a time when the government has poured an unprecedented £340bn into the economy, with vast amounts going on schemes intended to support companies and individuals through the crisis.
Kicking off what is being dubbed the ‘green industrial revolution’, Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, recently unveiled the government’s plans to fund 429 projects that will help to cut emissions from public buildings, schools and hospitals across England. This £1bn fund will especially be used to upgrade the buildings with low carbon solutions such as LED lighting, solar panels, heat pumps and roof insulation.
Mr Kwarteng said the measures would “make a considerable dent in the amount of carbon emissions emitting from our economy and put us on the path to eliminate our contribution to climate change by 2050”. He also claimed this would create and support up to 80,000 jobs over the next three decades.
The funds have mostly been awarded to local authorities, Academy schools, further and higher education institutions and NHS bodies. Awards given to projects in the Greater London area add up to just over £143m and those allocated to the East of England come to almost £85m. That includes eight grants for Luton Borough Council totalling around £7.7m.
Perhaps some of the projects receiving funding might require our expertise in roofing and insulation!
On top of these awards, the government set out its strategy to slash carbon emissions from industry over the next 15 years and issued a further £171m for industrial decarbonisation projects in Merseyside, Aberdeenshire, Teesside, Humber and South Wales.
23.03.2021
Feature image: ponsulak/Shutterstock.com
