Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Gwynne Excerpts

Thursday 5th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

To get a CfD one has to have a supply chain plan in place, so we hope that that will reinforce the need to have local support and an effective local supply chain.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

8. What steps he is taking to help households improve their energy efficiency.

[Joan Walley (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)]

13. What steps he is taking to help households improve their energy efficiency.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Mr Edward Davey)]

We have extended our successful energy companies obligation to 2017 and reformed the green deal with changes such as the green deal home improvement fund. Together, ECO and the green deal have helped more than 1 million homes become more energy efficient. As I have said, I laid regulations before Parliament yesterday to require landlords to bring their properties up to a minimum level of energy efficiency by 1 April 2018. If the House agrees these new, tough rules for the private rented sector, we estimate that around 1 million tenants will benefit from warmer and cheaper-to-heat homes.

[Andrew Gwynne]

It was almost two years ago that the then Energy Minister, the right hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Gregory Barker) said that he would be having sleepless nights if fewer than 10,000 people signed up for the green deal. Since then, 5,000 people have benefited from the measures—that is all. For how long is the Secretary of State seriously going to insult the intelligence of Members by saying that the green deal has been a success?

[Mr Davey]

Not for the first time, the hon. Gentleman is wrong with his statistics. More than 445,000 green deal assessments have taken place, and our evidence shows that over 70%—[Interruption]—over 70% of those people having assessments go on to install measures or intend to install measures. That is far more than the hon. Gentleman talks about. For the benefit of the House, let me clarify that the figures he used relate to people who have gone through the system and used green deal finance—only one part of the green deal. Green deal assessment is a key part: it has been working and it has played forward to enable us to meet our target for insulating 1 million homes four months ahead of schedule.