ECO4 and Insulation Schemes

Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist Excerpts

Wednesday 29th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

My Lords, the energy company obligation scheme and the Great British Insultation Scheme were established to improve the energy efficiency of homes—one of the best ways to cut consumer energy bills and keep people warm. This is particularly true for those experiencing fuel challenges. We took significant steps to improve the energy performance rating of homes. By the time we left office, 70% of social housing had an energy performance rating of A to C, up from 24% in 2010. In fact, almost half of the measures installed under the GBIS have been to low-income households.

The installation of solid wall insulation makes up a small proportion of the work undertaken by the ECO schemes and the Great British Insulation Scheme. It is worrying, however, that we have seen examples of substandard solid wall insulation under the schemes as identified by TrustMark.

It is with that in mind that we welcome and support the action announced by the Government last week, in which Ofgem will oversee the repairs and remediation. We are also grateful to hear of a review into the quality of solid wall insulation in other schemes and that additional on-site audits will be conducted to inform future action. It goes without saying that installers should fund the necessary repair work to remedy impacted households, which may experience issues with damp and mould.

However, we look to the Minister to provide clarity. Will the Government publish a full list of the 39 companies suspended from the scheme for carrying out poor-quality work? Can the Minister explain how the suspended companies will be required to remedy their work, and how will the Government ensure that the remedied work meets the necessary standards? Finally, will the Minister clarify exactly what action will be taken to ensure that every household which had solid wall insulation implemented under the schemes is thoroughly and properly informed and provided with the necessary information to rectify the work?

I am sure that all noble Lords in your Lordships’ House can all agree that households should have warm homes that are both cheap and efficient to run.

[Lord Teverson (LD)]

My Lords, I gather from looking at the press release more than the original Statement that 65,000 applications will be checked through Ofgem procedures. Today I met someone who is affected by this, and I want to emphasise just the worry that the 65,000 or whatever will have over the future of their houses, their saleability, their onward renting or the damages to landlords. This is a real concern.

How many of the 39 companies that the noble Baroness, Lady Bloomfield, mentioned, were part of the TrustMark scheme? That scheme, which I believe all those contractors should have been a part of, is described as “Government Endorsed Quality”. What really worries me regarding future schemes—I know there is a big ambition on the part of this Government to carry on retrofitting—is that there will be a loss of confidence.

The one question I would really like an answer from the Minister on is about what I think is wishful thinking: namely, the Government’s view that all these issues will be replaced or rectified by the original installers. I do not wish to accuse the department of being naive, but let us be clear: the majority building business model is that when you get into trouble, you go into liquidation. I and, I think, other people really want to understand who will then bear the cost of those rectifications where that happens, as I suspect it will quite regularly.