Draft Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2023

Alan Brown Excerpts

Monday 3rd July 2023 General Committees

[Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd.

I welcome the draft order. The more money we can invest in energy efficiency, the better. How could I not be drawn in by a scheme that includes “Great British” as part of its title? It is so alluring. [Laughter.] But I do welcome the investment.

I have just a few questions for the Minister. Page 4 of the impact assessment states that, overall, the UK Government have a target to reduce energy consumption by 15% by 2030, compared with a 2021 baseline. How much will the draft order and these proposals for the installation of energy efficiency measures contribute to that 15% reduction target? What is the overall plan to get that 15% reduction by 2030?

The impact assessment also states that more than 100,000 additional homes will be helped to meet the target of being upgraded to achieve an energy performance certificate rating of band C. That is welcome, but to put it in context, it will still leave another 14 million or so homes to upgrade to EPC band C. What is the long-term target for getting those other 14 million homes upgraded to EPC band C, which is critical? That is the scale of the task that lies ahead.

The impact assessment further mentions a 20% uplift allowed for tackling rural properties in Scotland and Wales. What is the derivation of that 20% uplift? How realistic is the uplift as an allowance enabling rural homes in Scotland and Wales to fall under the scheme?

The whole thrust of the scheme seems to be based on cavity wall insulation as the main measure. Is that the right strategy overall, or does it mean that we are not tackling enough homes with other measures that could lift people out of fuel poverty? That is also critical. It is not just about reducing energy usage; it is about lifting people out of fuel poverty.

Further to the comments made by the hon. Member for Southampton, Test, I also want to highlight that the Government need to look at the roll-out of ECO4+, because it is quite clear that energy companies are saying that they are not getting the number of target properties to keep the scheme operational.