Chancellor Philip Hammond used his Spring Statement to pledge that the government would introduce energy-efficiency targets for new-build homes that were “world leading”.

Hammond said the move would both keep down householders’ spending on energy and help to combat pollution. However Westminster watchers said the announcement sounded like a revival of the Zero Carbon Homes policy scrapped by David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne almost four years ago.

As part of his update on the nation’s finances, Hammond said the government would introduce a “Future Homes Standard” by 2025.

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