Labour: Green Deal is a ‘dud’

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) statistics showed that in February only 33 Green Deal Plans were agreed, bringing the total up to 1,754.

Labour’s shadow energy minister, Tom Greatrex, said the figures showed that the Green Deal had “failed spectacularly”.

He added: “The Green Deal is getting worse, not better.

“There were only 33 Green Deal plans added in February with the number of new or pending Green Deal plans showing the second successive fall in as many months.

“The government’s Green Deal has now become a dud deal.”

However, Decc has said that the Green Deal, alongside the Energy Company Obligation (Eco), has made more than half a million homes “warmer, greener and cheaper to heat”.

More than 517,000 homes had energy efficiency measures installed under Eco or the Green Deal by the end of January.

This puts the government more than half way to its target of one million homes being upgraded via Eco or the Green Deal by April 2015, although 98 per cent of those that have had work done so far had it completed under Eco.

Energy secretary Ed Davey said: “With regards to the Green Deal and Eco, making it easier for people to have more energy efficient homes is the best way to put consumers in control so they can keep their bills down permanently.

“It’s clear there is a real appetite for more energy efficient homes, which also helps to reduce carbon emissions as well as creating jobs and economic growth in the energy efficiency sector.”