Steve Millward, the sustainability and quality director at building supplier Jewson, has called for an extension of the ‘car scrappage’ scheme announced in the Budget to domestic heating boilers.

Said Steve: “It was encouraging to see the emphasis on sustainability in this year’s Budget, particularly the decision to allocate £100m to improve the insulation of existing social housing stock, coupled with the £100m pledged to help deliver the construction of new homes at Code Level 3. However, while the Government is moving in the right direction, more must be done.

“Probably the most widely-documented point was the Government’s decision to implement the vehicle scrappage scheme. While this will undoubtedly provide a much-needed boost to the car industry, it will also be a positive move for the environment. Surely it would be just as beneficial to offer a similar scheme to replace the number of inefficient boilers currently in circulation throughout the UK? Given the 20% energy efficiency gain attributable to new boilers and the relatively few number of people who own one, the UK’s carbon footprint could be significantly reduced by such a simple move.”