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Budget: Osborne unveils Climate Change Agreements’ extension
Chancellor George Osborne has announced a raft of measures to help manufacturing businesses in his Budget.
Osborne today said that the Climate Change Agreements (CCA) will be extended to 2023.
In addition to this, the climate change levy discount on electricity for CCA participants will be increased from 65 to 85% from April 2013 to continue to support energy-intensive businesses exposed to international competition.
A vast majority of the packaging industry have signed up to the CCA, which is a government initiative that allows energy-intensive firms a discount on the Climate Change Levy if they achieve energy efficiency targets.
Packaging Federation chief executive Dick Searle welcomed the Chancellor’s CCA announcement and said most of the packaging industry were joined up to the CCA which makes them exempt from the Carbon Reduction Commitment, which is a tax.
‘World leader in manufacturing’
Osborne also said that he was looking to boost enterprise and exports, as part of a Budget “for making things”.
He said he also wanted the UK to be the best place to establish a company.
As part of the business drive, there will be 21 new Enterprise Zones created across the UK.
The government will expand the Univeristy Technical Colleges programme to establish at least 24 new colleges by 2014. Formed through partnerships between universities, colleges and businesses, UTCs will provide technical training opportunities for 11 to 19 year olds.
In addition, a High Value Manufacturing Technology Innovation Centre and nine new university-based Centres for Innovative Manufacturing are to be created.
“We have to compete to create jobs and growth,” Osborne said.
The Chancellor also announced plans to make the UK’s export promotion more entrepreneurial and create new export credits to help smaller businesses.
Elsewhere, Osborne announced that Corporation Tax will be reduced by 2% from April 2011, rather than 1% as previously intended, and fall by 1% in the next three years, to reach 23%.
Carbon price floor
The carbon price floor for electricity generation will be introduced from 1 April 2013. The carbon price floor will start at around £16 per tonne of carbon dioxide and follow a linear path to £30 per tonne in 2020 to drive investment in the low carbon power sector.
Green Investment Bank
The government has also announced that the initial capitalisation of the Green Investment Bank will be £3 billion and that the GIB will begin operation in 2012-13, a year earlier than previously anticipated. Government investment alongside private finance should mean that there is in the region of an additional £18 billion of investment in green infrastructure by 2014-15 as a result of the GIB.
Landfill tax
Landfill tax will increase to £56 per tonne on April 1 2011 and to £64 per tonne on April 1 2012, while the lower rate of landfill tax paid on inert waste will continue to be frozen at £2.50 per tonne for 2012/13.
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