Government’s approach to net zero policies has been ambiguous in past few days following Tories’ unexpected win in Uxbridge and South Ruislip
The number of households in temporary accommodation in England is at the highest level since records began 25 years ago, PA Media reports. PA says:
As of March 31 this year, 104,510 households were in temporary accommodation, up 10% from the same point last year, according to homelessness statistics released by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Compared to the previous quarter, the number of households in temporary accommodation increased by 4%.
Gove, the levelling up secretary, called for a review of the proposed timetable for the replacement of gas boilers with heat pumps. Under the proposals, the installation of gas boilers in newly-built homes is meant to stop from 2025, and all gas boiler installation is meant to stop in homes from 2035. But Gove said the timetable needed to be reviewed. He told Times Radio:
That is one area where I do think we need to review. It is important that new homes meet net-zero challenges but one of the challenges we have is with our existing housing stock.
There are proposals to decarbonise our existing housing stock which I think are the right direction to go but I think the cost of some of those changes may impose on homeowners, and indeed on landlords, I think at this point in time we do need to be careful about imposing.
But he said 2030 was immoveable as the date when the sale of new petrol and diesel cars would stop. When he was asked if this date was “immoveable”, he replied:
Yes. We’re committed to maintaining our policy of ensuring that by 2030 there are no new petrol and diesel cars being sold.
I’m sure there are some people who would like to change that policy, I understand. But that policy remains.
He said the government had to avoid a backlash against net zero measures. He told Times Radio:
It’s important that the government does press ahead with appropriate and thoughtful steps in order to safeguard the environment but there are some specific areas where the cost that is being imposed on individuals risks creating a backlash.
We don’t want to get to a situation where the support for improving our environment curdles and turns into resistance.
We saw recently in the Netherlands that an inflexible approach to environmental rules actually led to a backlash and it now has a significant body of people who are unhappy about the steps being taken.
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