In a further bid to highlight the furniture industry’s concerns about the adverse impact of biomass subsidies on its cost basis and future viability, representatives of the British Furniture Confederation today went to 11 Downing Street to present a letter and petition of more than 1,600 signatures for the attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne.
BFC chairman Paul von der Heyde said: “Despite having made representations both to DECC and BIS, the Government seems intent on ignoring the negative financial and business impacts on the furniture supply chain created by these subsidies which effectively assist energy producers to out bid manufacturers for a vital raw material resource. There is a danger that this will lead to the collapse of the main stream British furniture manufacturing base, unless the subsidies are significantly reduced or removed, especially for the burning of newly grown trees.
“We understand the pressure the Government is under to meet the 2020 renewable targets, the broader advantages of most biomass and the problems faced in getting new power stations built. However, the consequences of the current energy plan are dire for an already beleaguered industry. We are urging Government to review the situation and to ensure that our industry is not disadvantaged competitively, particularly at a time when imports continue to grow, and exports offer one of the few opportunities for growth.
“We do not seek any advantage for ourselves, only a level playing field. However, with the current subsidies granted to the power generation industry there is clearly a damaging imbalance. This undermines our industry and many others who create value and employment from a limited timber resource, as opposed to those who simply burn it.”
British Furniture Manufacturing supports well over 100 000 jobs and generates £7.3bn of GDP (almost 3% of Britain’s manufacturing output). It is now suffering an extraordinary increase in the cost of its prime raw material as a consequence of the poorly thought through woody biomass subsidies paid to energy producers.