Cavity Wall Insulation

Hywel Williams Excerpts

Wednesday 29th October 2014 Westminster Hall

[Hywel Williams (Arfon) (PC)]

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr McCrea. I applied for the debate because I have come across a number of cases in my constituency where it is alleged that cavity wall insulation has been installed when it should not have been, first because of the climate, which in my constituency is primarily heavy rainfall and prevailing wind-driven rain. I understand that my constituency is a category 4 area—an area in which cavity wall insulation is unsuitable.

In preparation for this debate, I spoke to an industry specialist with decades of experience, and he told me that in his area of the west of England, they just do not install cavity wall insulation at all. I gather from him that the prevailing weather in his area is less extreme than that in mine. My constituency is coastal and mountainous. It faces prevailing westerly winds and we have very heavy rain. I have a number of questions for the Minister, one of which is whether cavity wall insulation should be installed in category 4 areas such as mine that have wind-driven rain.

The 2012 Office of Fair Trading report on the matter contains a great deal of interesting information. If I may be forgiven for quoting at length, page 52 of the report states:

“Consumer magazine Which? reported in April 2011 that it had invited eight companies to assess for cavity wall insulation (CWI) a house that its expert surveyor deemed unsuitable for this due to cracks in the external walls and its location in an extremely wet and exposed area”.

That is typical of many of the houses in my area of north-west Wales. The OFT report continues by stating that those are factors that

“industry guidelines warn could lead to damp in houses with CWI. All eight said the house was suitable for CWI and none warned that CWI might put the house at risk from damp.”

That was in 2011, so I accept that industry practice may have moved on, but that is an important point to make at the start of my speech, because I am mainly concerned with a number of historical cases of cavity wall insulation being installed 25 years ago, say, and people now wondering what redress they have as the system fails, or at least as they suspect that the system is failing.

Secondly, I have been repeatedly told of cases where cavity wall insulation has been installed inappropriately—this is perhaps the main point—given the condition of the building, especially if the rendering was cracked or missing. Buildings vary from area to area, of course. Some places have pointed brickwork, but in my area pebbledash and smooth rendering rule supreme, and they are of course subject to cracks. Once a crack appears, water can get behind the rendering and make its way into the building if the gap between the interior and exterior skins has been bridged by cavity wall insulation. That is the nature of buildings in my area—people pebbledash their houses because of the rain.

Thirdly, I have been told of cases where cavity wall insulation was installed badly and with a low standard of workmanship, leading to cold spots in houses. Essentially that means that when the material was pumped in, some areas were missed, so that, perhaps in the middle of a wall, there was an area with no cavity wall insulation. That area is literally a cold spot, and condensation and subsequent fungal growth are suffered haphazardly in the middle of the wall. People are surprised by that condensation because they have insulation, and they cannot understand why it happens. It is rather difficult to remedy that situation. I understand that the system involves drilling from the outside and literally patching the inside by pumping in more material. That is clearly far from satisfactory for the householder, although it might be an effective remedy.

In one case, a householder’s internal plastic cladding made it difficult to assess the location of the cold spots. He had obtained ribbed plastic cladding from a DIY store, as he thought that that would prevent further damp, but in fact it prevented him from seeing where the damp was. That is just one case, of course, so I am not making a general point.

Other constituents have told me that they are considerably worried about water penetration and damage in areas of their house that they cannot access either because that is difficult, or because they are now older or infirm. They might have had the cavity wall insulation installed 10 or 15 years ago, perhaps when they were in their 50s and renovating their house with a view to retirement, and they are now not in a condition to clamber into loft spaces. One lady said that she suspected that she had damp that was caused by cavity wall insulation, but that it was in the cupboard under the stairs. She had not been in there for a while, so I had a look. It was quite black, and the damp was in a very inaccessible place.

I have also been told that although some installers had accepted liability and tried to do something about the damp, their remedial action had been ineffective. In one case, such ineffective remedial action allegedly led to dry rot because water was coming into the house across the bridge of the cavity wall insulation and encouraging that rot. The installers, to their credit, removed the cavity wall insulation—thoroughly they thought—and then employed a specialist company to remove the dry rot, but my constituent tells me that the dry rot has returned, as it is wont to do. She has now decided to take the matter through the courts, but her case is an exception.

I have also been told that some of the remedial action has been carried out to a low standard of workmanship. I recently visited a house on a council estate in my constituency, and as I approached, I saw that the pebbledash rendering was clearly patched—I thought by someone with their eyes closed in the dark. It was clearly a terrible job. There were patches of about 1½ square feet on which there were no pebbles and the appearance of pebbledash had been achieved by making indentations with fingers so that it looked vaguely like the pebbledash next door. The elderly lady who lived there was at her wits’ end and did not know what to do.

In other cases, liability has been denied. Although householders are convinced that their damp problems are caused by cavity wall insulation, the installers have either gone bust or closed down, or the people who have taken over the companies deny any liability. When people appeal through the industry guarantee scheme, they believe that it operates with a very high bar that prevents proper redress in what they see as a legitimate case. The scheme makes an effort to be accessible, and I am sure it acts to proper standards, but my constituents have faced a difficult experience, which might be because some of them are elderly or infirm, or just not familiar with negotiating their way through official-ese. The 2012 OFT report criticised the industry guarantee scheme, and I am not sure whether measures have since been taken to improve the situation.

One company, to its credit, has worked well with me. We have reached a conclusion on some cases, while it denies liability in others. A number of cases are pending or have been referred to the industry guarantee scheme—the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency. However, the experience is very unsatisfactory for my constituents, who thought they were doing something good by installing cavity wall insulation, but found that that was not to be the case. The company, which I will not name, was not originally directly involved in the insulation scheme. It took over another company that had closed down, so the practice was not its primary responsibility. Another company that was working in my area has closed down, so any claims for compensation or redress must presumably go to CIGA, the industry-wide body, although there might be problems with doing that.

The situation causes less tangible effects, which some people say are more damaging to the individual than the building. People suffer long-term worry about what will happen to their homes and the possible costs of repair, as they might not be able to afford repairs or clamber into attics. We know that long-term worry has an effect on people’s physical health.

It is alleged that direct health effects arise due to the growth of mould. When I was considering what to call this matter—for the file, as it were—I thought of the Welsh phrase “waliau du”, which means “black walls”, because that is literally what is happening: people’s walls are turning black, and they do not understand why. I have been told that mould growth can worsen children’s asthma.

I must note that my constituents are really bemused, because they were urged to insulate their houses and install double glazing only then to be advised that to avoid condensation, they should leave their windows open. It is peculiar to give people such advice in mid-winter, because by letting out the steam, they also let out the heat that they have taken such steps to conserve.

My constituents believe that they have no means of redress—whether they do or not is another matter—and cannot afford to take civil action. The local citizens advice bureau works hard, but its resources are extremely limited. I have contacted the trading standards office of my local authority, Gwynedd county council. It has taken up some cases, but not all, and not all that have gone forward have been successful. Many of the people affected are of modest means. They were just trying to better their living conditions, to save energy and to do their bit on climate change. The insulation programme began in the 1980s, so people are coming to the end of their 25-year guarantee period without knowing whether their system is still viable. Those people are 25 years older than they were when the cavity wall insulation was installed, and so are less able to pursue their cases.

I came across the case of a young family who bought their house a few years ago only to find later that the cavity wall insulation was failing. However, the installer is unknown, as the installation took place a long time ago and no paperwork came with the house. The family think that they have cavity wall insulation—the walls are black—but they know nothing else. Their case is pressing, because they think the insulation was installed 25 years ago, so if there is a guarantee, it will be coming to an end.

My general point is that my constituents subscribed to what many thought, rightly or wrongly, was straightforwardly a Government scheme. Some were told that by the installers, while others assumed that, as the Government were funding the installation, the system was safe and effective, and that the installers were operating to an appropriate standard of practice. The OFT’s 2012 report noted that some people assumed that the installers’ practice was regulated and inspected, and that appropriate quality assurance measures were in place. Those people feel let down and believe that somebody—albeit an ill-defined somebody—should take responsibility.

The Government’s frankly disappointing response to the OFT’s report concentrates almost exclusively on the green deal—I understand why, as it was being put in place—but pays scant attention to the historical problems that concern me today. The OFT emphasised the importance of cavity wall insulation, saying:

“The home insulation sector had a value of around £700-800 million in 2010…Insulation can create important benefits for consumers”.

I do not decry insulation by any means; it is a very good thing. The OFT also said that

“if poor installation causes problems with damp, these may not become evident until a year or more after installation. Monitoring, which is typically done in the weeks following installation, cannot identify these longer-term problems…In relation to regulatory monitoring, Ofgem requires the energy suppliers to inspect five per cent of installations and provide a summary of these inspections to Ofgem.”

Is 5% sufficient? It is only one in 20. I have come across so many cases in a small town that I, a complete layman in these matters, suspect that a more intensive quality assurance system is needed.

Respondents to the OFT raised four issues, including, first, the quality of installation—whether it was installed to a high quality and in suitable premises—and, secondly, whether there is an adequate mechanism for redress if things go wrong. The OFT noted its

“concerns that, although offering an important source of redress, the current arrangements for consumer redress for faulty installation of cavity wall insulation could be improved.”

As I said, the Government’s response concentrated on the green deal.

After this debate was announced, I was contacted by Councillor Brian Heading of Belfast city council—you might know him, Dr McCrea—who told me that cavity wall insulation was widely installed during the housing boom in Ulster. He said that those private and public sector houses are now 30 to 40 years old and in need of renovation, including through the removal or updating of insulation. He told me that he knows of no body that systematically checks the condition of cavity wall insulation properly to assess the scale of the problem. He was keen to say that he suspects that European money is available to the devolved Assembly under the energy programme, so I must ask the Minister whether that is true. He is keen to access any source of money to take the matter further.

Finally, I have also been contacted by representatives of a company in Lancashire that has a patent process for insulating houses from the outside with a coating. It also removes cavity wall insulation, albeit with difficulty. Full VAT is payable on its services but, in the company’s view, it would be reasonable to charge the lower rate. I concede that this matter may be for the Treasury, rather than the Minister, but I think it is a fair point. At the 2008 ECOFIN meeting in Helsinki, it was decided that countries can reduce the VAT rate from 20% to 5% for labour-intensive industries. The removal and renovation of botched cavity wall insulation would seem to be a prime candidate for a VAT reduction.

I will be grateful for the Minister’s response to my points, although I concede that I have made many of them. If she cannot respond today, I will be glad to receive a written reply when she has had time to consider the matter further.