Millions of pounds of Government cash are being invested in training opportunities for green energy workers.

Thousands of courses will be rolled out across England to grow a skilled workforce of heat pump and energy efficiency installers, as the Government announces winners of the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training competition.

Shining a light on the huge scope for economic growth and job creation in the green energy sector, the £9.2 million funding will offer free and heavily subsidised training opportunities for installers of clean heating and energy efficiency measures.

Business and Energy Minister Lord Callanan said: “The green energy sector is driving growth and creating jobs right across the country, and this funding will make sure we have enough tradespeople trained up and able to take advantage of these opportunities.”

The funding will see training providers deliver 8,900 courses at accredited centres across England for prospective heat pump and energy efficiency installers.

This will add to the rapidly growing number already saving households hundreds of pounds on their energy bills each year by delivering energy efficiency solutions, while helping the UK meet its ambitious carbon emissions commitments.

Lord Callanan said: “We are making homes greener and cheaper to keep warm and training thousands more skilled installers will ensure we keep accelerating the pace of creating cleaner and more energy efficient buildings.”

The Government is accelerating the pace of upgrading the energy efficiency of housing with £6 billion funding committed to 2028, in addition to £6.6 billion in this parliament. A further £4 billion has been committed through the ECO4 scheme, which is delivering home insulation measures to low income and more vulnerable households, and the £1 billion ECO scheme, which will install measures in households who have previously not been able to access support through the Energy Company Obligation scheme.

The funding will provide training for people already working in the heating and plumbing sector who are looking to retrain or grow their existing skills, as well as for those looking to enter and work in the energy efficiency, building retrofit and low carbon heating sectors, building the overall number and skill levels of trained installers across England.

Training through the latest round of the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training competition will be delivered until 31 March 2023 and follows the success of the previous round of funding in 2021 when the Government invested £6 million, resulting in almost 7,000 training opportunities.

Organisations that have been successful in the latest funding round will provide appropriate installer training that leads to a recognised NVQ qualification or equivalent and Continuing Professional Development-style short courses.

Training opportunities will be provided across England with courses being run at centres in towns and cities from Truro to Newcastle and the Isle of Wight to Cumbria.

1 December 2022 – Due date for Corporation Tax payable for the year ended 28 February 2022.

19 December 2022 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 December 2022. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 December 2022).

19 December 2022 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 December 2022.

19 December 2022 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 December 2022 is payable by today.

30 December 2022 – Deadline for filing 2021-22 self-assessment tax returns online to include a claim for under payments to be collected via tax code in 2023-24.

1 January 2023 – Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 March 2022.

19 January 2023 – PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 January 2023. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 January 2023).

19 January 2023 – Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 January 2023.

19 January 2023 – CIS tax deducted for the month ended 5 January 2023 is payable by today.

31 January 2023 – Last day to file 2021-22 self-assessment tax returns online.

31 January 2023 – Balance of self-assessment tax owing for 2021-22 due to be settled on or before today unless you have elected to extend this deadline by formal agreement with HMRC. Also due is any first payment on account for 2022-23.

Employers will need to update their systems to reflect the changes in the National Living and Minimum Wage rates from 1 April 2023.

They are:

• Increasing the National Living Wage for those aged 23 and over by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour;
• Increasing the rate for 21–22-year-olds by 10.9% to £10.18 an hour;
• Increasing the rate for 18–20-year-olds by 9.7% to £7.49 an hour;
• Increasing the rate for 16–17-year-olds by 9.7% to £5.28 an hour;
• Increasing the apprentice rate by 9.7% to £5.28 an hour; and
• Increasing the accommodation offset rate by 4.6% to £9.10 an hour.

As this will increase the payroll costs of affected business owners these changes will need to be factored into business plans for 2023-24.

Changes to these support payments were announced in the Autumn Statement last month. They include:

1. State Pension – will increase in line with inflation.
2. Cost of living payments – the government will provide households on means-tested benefits with an additional £900 Cost of Living payment in 2023-24. Pensioner households will receive an additional £300 Cost of Living payment, and individuals on disability benefits will receive an additional £150 Disability Cost of Living payment in 2023-24. These payments will be made on a UK-wide basis.
3. Uprating of benefits – the government is protecting the most vulnerable in society by increasing benefits in line with inflation, measured by September CPI which is 10.1% this year. Around 19 million families will see their benefit payments increase from April 2023. This includes increasing the State Pension by inflation, in line with the commitment to the Triple Lock. The standard minimum income guarantee in Pension Credit will also increase in line with inflation from April 2023 (rather than in line with average earnings growth). This will ensure pensioners on the lowest incomes are protected from inflation and do not lose some of their State Pension increase in the Pension Credit means test. Some disability benefits are devolved in Scotland, so it is for the Scottish Government (SG) to decide uprating. Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits are fully devolved in Northern Ireland, so it is for the Northern Ireland Executive to decide uprating in Northern Ireland.

Readers may have noted that the Chancellor announced a significant reduction in the annual Capital Gains Tax allowance, currently £12,300, from April 2023.

It is reducing to £6,000 from April 2023 with a further reduction to £3,000 from April 2024.

Taxpayers who are contemplating the disposal of a chargeable asset next year, which will create significant chargeable gains, should consider organising these disposals before, rather than after, 5 April 2023; unless they have already crystalised gains during 2022-23 and fully used their £12,300 tax-free allowance.

And don’t forget, married couples and civil partners both qualify for the £12,300 allowance in which case organising joint ownership of these assets before disposal may be beneficial.