Budget 2025: EAC Chair responds on energy bills, planning investment

The Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, Toby Perkins, has responded to measures announced in today's Budget to reduce energy bills and increase planning capacity.

Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, Toby Perkins MP, said:

“The Committee has heard again and again that reducing the cost of electricity is the best way to speed up the clean power transition. Reducing them is rightly a priority for the Government, especially as it encourages households to make the switch to cleaner and greener energy sources. So I welcome the Chancellor's announcement today that the Budget will remove an average of £150 from household energy bills.

I also welcome the additional investment to recruit planners in England. The Committee's recent report on housing growth raised concerns about the exodus of planners leaving the profession; planning reforms and ambitious building targets cannot be achieved without the staff to deliver them.

However, it is still critical that these new planners are equipped with expertise in ecology, so they can make the right decisions for communities and for nature.”