Oral Answers to Questions

Joan Walley Excerpts

Thursday 5th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[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.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent North) (Lab)]

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

--- Later in debate ---

[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.

[Joan Walley]

I ask the Secretary of State to revisit the figures. He is making great play of them, but 80% fewer people had energy efficiency schemes last year in comparison with 2011-12. Rather than just trade figures, is it not time that the Secretary of State really looked at putting energy efficiency at the heart of his energy investment infrastructure policy?

[Mr Davey]

Let me reassure the hon. Lady that energy efficiency is at the heart of our policies. That is why we have managed to achieve our 1 million target early, and why I have put forward legislation for the private rented sector, which I hoped the hon. Lady would welcome. She might be interested to know that today John Alker, acting chief executive officer of the UK Green Building Council said:

“This could be the single most significant piece of legislation to affect our existing building stock in a generation”.

I am proud that this Government have introduced that.