Wayne welcomes the summer statement
Yesterday (Wednesday 8 July) the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak MP delivered his Summer Statement.
Wayne Gethings, Group Chief Executive at The Wrekin Housing Group has welcomed measures outlined in the statement.
“At Wrekin we deliver housing and care services that make a difference to people’s lives. Many of the measures announced today will have a direct impact on Wrekin and our customers. It was great to hear the Chancellor acknowledge the role of housing in promoting economic growth, and we are committed to playing our role in supporting the local economy.
I welcome the announcements to remove stagnation in the property market. Anything that helps to give the housing sector a boost, and get wheels moving, will be a good thing for our customers, future customers and the local economy. The key for us is to make sure that this benefit is felt by the people who need it most. On Monday, as part of Rural Housing Week, I spoke about our ongoing commitment to providing affordable housing for the people who need it most, where it is most needed.
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is easy to forget about some of the longer term ambitions we have for housing, the plan to decarbonise social housing is very much welcome. This decarbonisation plan could have a real long term benefit for everyone. Boosting the green economy helps us in our commitment to reduce energy bills for our customers and deliver more much needed local affordable housing, while also enabling the country to meet its carbon reduction targets. I look forward to contributing to the detail of the plan.
Inspiring positive change is core to our values and as a proud employer of trainees and apprentices it was also good to hear about the introduction of the kickstart programme. The programme will prioritise high value sectors such as social care and construction which are both vital to our organisation. As well as to the success of market towns, rural areas and new towns locally. Our employability schemes, such as The Marches Construction Ready Partnership, are already producing motivated trainees for the construction sector and we look forward to this continuing.
While there were a number of announcements to be welcomed today it must also be acknowledged that the overall backdrop to the whole statement was the stark reality that the whole world faces a deep recession. We remain committed to providing support and advice around financial wellbeing directly to our customers, and playing a broader economic impact role for the wider community.”
9th July 2020