VAT: Building Repairs and Maintenance

Baroness Chapman of Darlington Excerpts

Wednesday 19th April 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

On the noble Baroness’s specific point, if I may I will write to her with the details because I do not have them to hand at the moment.

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

My Lords, can the Minister confirm that around one-third of the money allocated by the Government to fund installation of heat pumps and home insulation has so far gone unspent? That is £2.1 billion that could have been spent on making British homes cheaper to keep warm. Do the Government have a plan to spend this money? For example, could it help to fund VAT reductions on improvements to energy efficiency, encouraging more people to upgrade their homes?

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

I can confirm to the noble Baroness that we already have a reduced rate of VAT in place for energy-efficiency installations. She will also be aware that we are extending the available support through a new energy company obligation, the energy-efficient Great British insulation scheme. It is estimated that the scheme will make around 300,000 homes more energy efficient, primarily through the installation of insulation measures, reducing household bills by around £300 to £400 on average per year and, crucially, reducing emissions.