Only one in seven of those who have tried to obtain a Green Homes Grant (GHG) have been satisfied by the process, according to polling carried out by Parliament’s Environment Audit Committee.
Green MP Caroline Lucas presented the figures to energy minister Kwasi Kwarteng when he appeared in front of the committee yesterday (2 December) at the concluding session of its inquiry into energy efficiency.
She said that 86 per cent of those polled who have tried access the energy efficiency vouchers said the service had been “poor” or “very poor”.
“If only 14 per cent are saying they are having a positive experience, given this is coming on top of the Green Deal which was again not rolled out in a very successfully manner, you are losing confidence,” Lucas said, referring to the government’s earlier botched scheme for supporting energy efficiency installations.
The roll out of the GHG has been bedevilled by complaints from potential customers, who have reported problems finding installers to supply quotes.
Kwarteng said the scheme, which has just been extended by a year to give more time for measures to be installed, is under “constant review”.
“The hard stop in March 2021 was clearly not enough time to get buy in: we have to see how rollout is improving as more professionals get accreditation to install the measures.”
Philip Dunne, the chair of the committee, said it was “disappointing” that funding for energy efficiency measures had only been extended by a single year in last week’s spending review.
He also challenged Kwarteng on his department’s estimate that private landlords will have pay an average of £4,000 to upgrade their homes to the new energy efficiency standards due to come into force in 2025. From that date, all privately rented properties will have to meet Band C of the Energy Performance Certificate.
Dunne told the minister that according to evidence submitted to his committee’s inquiry by the Northern Housing Consortium of social landlords, home retrofits would cost £19,000 on average with £4,000 on top to install a heat pump.
The minister also said work is “well under way” on the Heat and Buildings Strategy, which he said would follow the Energy White Paper by “one or two months”.
The National Infrastructure Strategy, which showed that the Heat and Buildings Strategy is not timetabled for publication for another year, prompted concerns of further delays for the document.
At the same hearing, Treasury minister Kemi Badenoch said the department has no plans to revise taxes to encourage homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their properties.