Blogging decided to take a long break over Christmas and the New Year. This was to recharge the batteries, enjoy the festive season and so I could reflect on the achievements of COP 15 in Copenhagen and the Pre Budget Review. As it turned out Copenhagen was a big disappointment and reflecting on the outcome took no time at all. The PBR was similar.
However the weather has certainly proved a major distraction and made a days work enormously challenging so I have only now returned to the blog. Fortunately I have been able to get into my office with the minimum of inconveneience and have smiled at all those people who lambasted 4x4 owners but were eyeing me enviously as I drove effortly by their stationary cars stuck in the snow.
It is a shame we have had such a spell of bad weather as it has rather undermined the global warming exponents as many people think no futrther than the current weather which is anything but warmer. It is of course not about global warmimg but climate change and perhaps business needs to be prepared for further bouts of disruptive weather, hot or cold, occurring more frequently. Roll on the summer when we will probably be stuck because the roads are melting.
Back to reality now and the new decade. What does it hold for business and the environment? Well there were a few crumbs of comfort in the PBR. For the eco-business warriors there was the Boiler Incentive Scheme to help up to 125,000 households upgrade old inefficient boilers to the latest energy efficient models. Shame I did mine last year! This will be a fillip for the plumbing and heating fraternity but not much as there are apparently around 80,000 plumbers in the UK so that works out to one and a half boilers each. There are normally about 2 million boiler changes a year so 1 in 16 may be on the scheme but do not be despondent, the car scrappage scheme did perk up the motor trade. There are some changes to Climate Change Levy which will benefit energy intensive sectors but I reserve my greatest excitement for the initiative on company cars and vans.
There is a new 0% rate band which will apply for five years to company cars and vans solely propelled by electricity. This zero rate band applies to both income tax and national insurance contributions for employees but not employers although businesses will enjoy a 100% first year allowance for electric vans. At the time of announcement I was reliably informed that there was no van on the market solely propelled by electricity. There have been in the past but not now. I am also informed that there were fifteen electric company cars in the UK!
So for the quick acting entrepreneur there is an enormous opportunity to buy up old milk floats from Express Dairy (who are they you might ask) and quickly add some sides and back doors or doors windows and seats. With a snazzy custom paint job you will have a best seller and a rush of customers.
Happy New Year