Fuel Poverty: England
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(1 week, 2 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Normanton and Hemsworth (Jon Trickett) for securing this really important debate. He has a great record of speaking up for low-income and vulnerable families in his constituency and across the country. I share his desire to tackle fuel poverty and his anger that energy is simply unaffordable for too many people in this country. The Government are determined to take the action necessary to lower bills and support the most vulnerable in our society.
I thank all Members for their contributions, and for highlighting the heartbreaking stories of families across the country that are struggling.
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Ind)
The Minister talks about heartbreaking stories. My hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool West Derby (Ian Byrne) and I have just come off a Public and Commercial Services Union picket line outside a Department, and one of the issues that was raised with us was the cost of living, particularly fuel poverty, because those workers are on low wages and are experiencing poverty. One of the things that Ministers could do now is go back to their Departments, review all their contracts, end the outsourcing and bring those workers back into an insourced service.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We know there is a challenge with the cost of living. We are coming out of the worst cost of living crisis that we have faced in a generation, and tackling it is central to what we are trying to do in my Department and across Government.
It is important that we situate this debate in the context in which we find ourselves. We published a review of our fuel poverty strategy last week, and the headline was staggering: fuel poverty stagnated in this country under the previous Government. In 2023, an estimated 13% of households in England—3.17 million people—were in fuel poverty according to the low income low energy efficiency metric, which is a narrow statutory definition. We know that out there in the country a lot more people are feeling the pressure of energy bills and have the sense that they cannot cope and cannot afford to heat their homes.
In 2023, about 46% of all low-income households in England lived in properties with an energy efficiency rating of band D or lower. That creates a cycle that is difficult to escape: the poorest in our country live in cold homes. Behind those statistics are lives, and I have heard the stories directly. People are scared to turn on the heat because they fear the bill at the end of the month. Parents are having to make the impossible choice between feeding their kids and heating their homes.
We know that the reality is intolerable for too many people. That is the legacy of the previous Government that we inherited, but we are determined to turn it around. Every family and business in the country has paid the price of our dependence on global fossil fuel markets that we do not control. We inherited sky-high energy bills. Yes, they are down from the crisis peak, but they are still at record highs.
Our clean power mission is not ideological; it is a primary solution to this problem. We are running to deliver clean power at this pace because we see that as our route to delivering home-grown energy that we have more control over, that will deliver energy security for the country and, critically, that will take us off this rollercoaster of price hikes, which are impacting families, and deliver the financial security that families across the country are desperate for. But we recognise that, while we do that, we also need to reform the electricity market. The review of electricity market arrangements, which we are working on at the moment, is looking at the very question of how we decouple gas from clean power prices. Our judgment is that, as we increase the amount of clean power in the system, we will do the job of decoupling, alongside market reforms, so that people can benefit from the big changes we are trying to make.
We recognise that we also have to support struggling families while we make that transition.
Robbie Moore
I thank the Minister for allowing an intervention. I raised concerns in my speech about the fact that 64,000 pensioners are struggling now to make that difficult choice between putting food on the table and heating their homes, and she has rightly acknowledged that. Does she recognise that the choice she and the Government made to remove the winter fuel allowance was wrong, when so many pensioners are in a dire state as a result of that choice?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
The hon. Member raises winter fuel payments, as hon. Members across the House have done. The Chancellor had an impossible job to do and made a tough call, but we have been clear that we will do whatever is needed to support the most vulnerable. Everything I am charged with doing, everything that my Department is trying to do, is to ensure that households struggling with bills can be protected and insulated.
The Government reviewed the fuel poverty strategy, “Sustainable warmth: protecting vulnerable households”, because we recognised that the trajectory we were on was not the right one. The review showed that progress on meeting the statutory target has stalled. Alongside that review, we are consulting on how to up our strategy to respond to that problem.
Jim Shannon
In questions, urgent questions and statements in the Chamber, I have been keen to ensure that every part of this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland can benefit from strategies in this House and that the ripples go out to everywhere. In my contribution, I asked the Minister again whether there would be an opportunity to discuss the matter with the relevant Minister back home. I know the Minister is committed to that. Will she please update me on where those talks and discussions have gone, so that we can all benefit?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
Let me reassure the hon. Member that we are talking to all devolved Administrations. There are common challenges that we all face and common solutions. We are working in collaboration; we have an interministerial working group, and I am having direct conversations with all devolved Administrations as we take forward our plans.
We are also trying to work with everyone. The challenge we face to turn around the trajectory on fuel poverty is huge and the inheritance is tough, so we want to draw on the expertise of consumer groups, industry and academia as we develop our plan on fuel poverty.
Nick Timothy
The Minister talks about the tough job the Chancellor faces. Does she acknowledge that the job is tough because of the Chancellor’s own choices? The Minister talks about the inheritance but, as I said in my speech, the Labour manifesto said that Labour would increase spending by £9.5 billion a year, while the Budget increased it by £76 billion a year. That is why the Chancellor faces tough decisions—they originate with her own political choices. Does the Minister acknowledge that?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
That is pretty audacious of the hon. Member, given the record of the previous Government, their financial position and the wrecking ball they took to the economy. We have to clean up the mess of the previous Government, so yes, we have had to make tough choices before that. Candidly, if I were in the hon. Member’s position, I would be hanging my head in shame, rather than lecturing this Government on how we clean up the mess they created. What I will say is that, whether on the economy or fuel poverty, we understand that we have been given an atrocious inheritance. We are not complacent about that. Things that the Conservatives were willing to accept, we are not willing to accept.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I will make progress. On the critical issue of fuel poverty, we are consulting in order to improve our strategy, looking at how to make progress on our statutory target for 2030 and asking questions about wide affordability. As we take action, we must ensure that we are dealing with our statutory obligation and the more fundamental problem of affordability across the country.
Alongside our consultation on the fuel poverty strategy, we have also taken steps to try to lift half a million people out of fuel poverty by improving standards in the private rented sector. Last week we published a consultation on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector by 2030. Our proposals would require landlords to upgrade their homes so that tenants can benefit from warmer homes through insulation, cavity wall insulation and double glazing first, and then through other measures such as solar, batteries and smart meters.
My hon. Friend the Member for Normanton and Hemsworth asked about the impact on renters. I would say two things. Our analysis suggested that if we get this right, it could save renters about £240. We know that there is a risk of landlords potentially hiking bills, but when we have upgraded homes in the past, we have found that landlords have not increased bills, so we do not expect them to do so this time. Critically, we have also been surveying landlords, and the feedback is that the majority would cover the cost of the upgrades, which they know is the right thing to do. I should add that 50% of landlords have already upgraded their homes up to EPC C, so they will pay for this through those savings. We are therefore confident that renters will not be penalised, and we believe that the measures in the Renters’ Rights Bill will provide enough safeguards to ensure that renters can benefit from £240 off their energy bills and the security of knowing that their rents will not be increased.
Robbie Moore
Does the Minister recognise that many landlords are not in a sound financial position themselves, and that the challenge of getting the energy performance rating of their rental properties up to C can therefore be incredibly costly and sometimes unachievable, given the old housing stock? Will she outline what support will be available to achieve the Government’s ambition of upgrading to an energy performance rating of C?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We have estimated that the average cost of upgrading homes to C is about £6,000. To protect landlords, we have put in place a cap of £15,000 and created mechanisms to provide exemptions for those landlords who we know will genuinely struggle. Alongside that, we are already providing support through our boiler upgrade scheme and warm homes local grant, which landlords can access, and we will be setting out more measures in the warm homes plan to support landlords on this journey. I should say that the vast majority of landlords want to do this—50% have already done so. We need to level the playing field for renters, so that all landlords are delivering homes to a standard that will ensure that they are warmer and cheaper to run for tenants.
A big plank of what we know we need to do to tackle fuel poverty—alongside what we are trying to do on minimum energy efficiency standards in the rental sector—will be our warm homes plan, which will transform homes across the country to make them cheaper and warmer. The idea behind it is simple and will mean upgrading homes with insulation, solar and heat pumps. In response to the points made about delays in rolling out the warm home plan, I would say that we are running at this. This year alone, we have massively increased the number of upgrades that we are expecting to 300,000, backed by £3.2 billion-worth of investment, and we will come forward in the spring with our plans to ramp that up.
The key thing that we are trying to achieve is moving from the hundreds of thousands of upgrades that we have seen—the inheritance of the last Government, who frankly slashed home upgrades, despite knowing their huge impact on bills and the comfort of consumers —to upgrading millions of homes. That will mean taking a comprehensive look at how we increase demand for home upgrades and deliver at scale in different places, working with regional government and suppliers, and, critically, how we ensure that when people go on this journey of upgrading their homes, they have the confidence to know—to the point made earlier—that the work will be done to a quality standard, and that if things go wrong there will be redress and protection. The current system that we inherited was far too fragmented and ad hoc. Consumers are not at its heart, and we absolutely must turn that around.
Ellie Chowns
I thank the Minister for giving way and for her comments so far. On the point about tackling the fragmentation and ad hoc nature of the previous system, does the Minister agree with me that home insulation upgrades are a win-win-win policy. They are good for people’s warmth and health, they are really good for jobs and they help to save the climate as well. One key barrier in recent years has been the stop-start, year-on-year type of policy that means that nobody in the supply chain is able to plan and have the strategic direction that they need to make the investments, build the labour force and so forth. Will the Government provide the long-term certainty about the policy direction and level of investment required so that everybody can pull together in the same direction?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I absolutely agree that home insulation is a key part of how we tackle the problem of fuel poverty. Unless we have homes that are insulated, whatever energy we put into people’s homes, at whatever price, is going out of their windows. That is why it is so important to what we are trying to do through the warm homes plan. We seek through the plan to provide long-term certainty: for consumers, so that they know there is a programme that will support them through a journey, and, critically, for the supply chain.
I have spoken to many installers who tell me they are living hand to mouth. The ability to build, to plan, to recruit apprenticeships and to build up capacity is constrained by a stop-start approach. We are clear that the plan needs to be long term. We are working to make sure we can underpin that with long-term certainty on funding, so that we can see the level of ramp-up and scale-up that we need to insulate and upgrade millions of homes, rather than hundreds of thousands of homes.
Clive Efford (in the Chair)
Order. Can I just say that I need to bring in the mover of the motion for a couple of minutes at the end? Thank you, Minister.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
Let me address the points made by Members from rural constituencies. This plan has to work for every part of the country and we have to have solutions for every house. Rather than the Government dictating solutions from on high in Whitehall, we need to empower the system to figure out the best way to deliver warm homes for people across the country. That means thinking about the range and mix of solutions that go into people’s homes, so that they can have low-carbon options, but also options that work for their pockets.
Alongside what we need to do through our warm homes plan, it is important to say that we must also deal with the question of supporting households on bills. That is why going into this winter, wanting to do everything we can to support the most vulnerable, I worked with energy suppliers to get them to commit to £500 million of industry support for people this winter so that we can get help to households that we know are struggling. The Government have also extended the household support fund until 31 March 2026 with an extra £752 million. We are providing the cold weather payment and our Department is providing the warm home discount to more than 3 million households. The Warm Home Discount (England and Wales) Regulations 2022 expire in 2026, so we want to consider options for the future.
Members talked about a social tariff. The challenge with the social tariff, which we are hearing about across the piece, is that it means different things to different people. However, we are looking at all the options to make sure we can provide the support that people need.
In conclusion, I understand Members’ passion; I share their passion and their commitment. Energy is not a luxury good. It is not a “nice to have”. It is foundational for people, but it is out of reach for some. That is a shame and a stain on us, and we are determined to turn things around.
Draft Energy Bill Relief Scheme and Energy Bills Discount Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2024
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(1 week, 3 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Energy Bill Relief Scheme and Energy Bills Discount Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2024.
The regulations were laid before the House on 16 December 2024. They amend two schemes that were created by the previous Government in response to the energy crisis. The amendments address an issue that was not considered in the rush to create the schemes, but has now come to the fore as we bring the schemes to an end. The issue is somewhat technical, so I ask hon. Members bear with me.
Both the energy bill relief scheme and the energy bills discount scheme, which I shall refer to as the EBRS and the EBDS, supported non-domestic energy users, including businesses and heat networks. The EBRS supported energy bills from October 2022 to March 2023 and the EBDS supported bills from April 2023 to March 2024.
The schemes have processes in place to ensure that, as bills are revised with accurate meter readings, the difference between the discount applied to the estimated bill and that applied to the final bill is reconciled. Suppliers then come back to Government to recover additional discounts they have paid out, or to pay back any excess discounts stemming from an over-estimation of the energy used in the first instance. That is right—the intention behind the schemes has always been for the Government, not the energy suppliers, to meet the cost to the consumer.
The regulations allow for the Secretary of State to determine when a supplier should leave the scheme on the basis of an assessment that there will be no further material amount owed by the Department to that supplier. Once a supplier has left the scheme, they are unable to claim back any further moneys from the Department for discounts they paid out on behalf of the schemes.
However, as the regulations currently stand, suppliers are still required to pay out discounts on any newly billed energy supplied during the periods of either scheme, even when that situation arises through no fault of their own. This could result in suppliers funding Government support without the ability to recoup those costs from the Department. That is contrary to the intention of the schemes. Consequently, suppliers have been reluctant to leave the schemes, which must come to an end in a timely manner.
The amendments in the statutory instrument remove the obligation on suppliers to provide the discounts to customers, except in instances when the consumer has lost out due to poor practices by their energy supplier. In those instances, we have provided carve-outs to balance the interests of suppliers with support and protection for consumers. Carve-outs are in place when a supplier has failed to provide their customers with a bill for energy supplied during the scheme period, when unreasonable delays or another failure has led to the energy not being billed accurately, or when the supplier has unreasonably failed in the duty to provide the discount. The customer should not and will not lose their entitlement to the discount in those circumstances.
If any dispute arises between the supplier and the customer in relation to the carve-outs, the resolution mechanisms will be those normally used in the industry, via a complaint to the Energy Ombudsman, investigation and potential sanction by the regulator, Ofgem, or court action. The amendments apply to energy suppliers in Great Britain.
Separately, the regulations amend the Energy Prices Act 2022 to allow the devolved Administration in Northern Ireland to make amendments to address issues in the Northern Ireland scheme. That is because their power to amend their equivalent legislation has expired.
Let me end by saying a few words about the challenges that non-domestic consumers face because of high prices. I know that Members across the Committee are concerned about that. Energy prices for non-domestic customers have dropped below the record peaks during the crisis, but the Government recognise that they remain high and pose issues for some businesses. The Government believe that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and to protect bill payers, including non-domestic consumers, permanently.
In the short term, the Government are taking action to better protect businesses from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts. Last year, the Government launched a consultation on introducing regulation of third party intermediaries, such as energy brokers. That is aimed at enhancing consumer protections, particularly for non-domestic consumers. The consultation has now closed and the Government will respond in due course.
The Government are also empowering businesses to challenge unfair and poor practices by suppliers. Since December 2024, small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 50 employees can have access to free support to resolve issues with their energy supplier through the Energy Ombudsman. That expands the service to 99% of British businesses, allowing them to access up to £20,000 in financial awards. Those are important steps, on which we will continue to build.
I hope that hon. Members will support the important regulations, which I commend to the Committee.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank the hon. Member for his response. I am glad that we have consensus across the Committee about the regulations.
The hon. Member is right to point out that energy bills are high. All hon. Members know that, and it is a central focus of the Government’s. I come back to the fact that we inherited a position whereby bills were at record heights. That is a result of our dependence on global fossil fuel markets over which we have no control. I have said this before and I will say it again: the Opposition were happy with that status quo, but we are not willing to put up with it. We believe that it must be changed. Our drive for green power will deliver home-grown clean energy, which will give energy security to the country and financial security to families.
While we do that, our manifesto commitment to reduce bills remains central to what we are trying to achieve. It is the core of everything that the Department is trying to do. We will bear down on bills through clean power and we will ensure that we take short-term action to protect bill payers who are struggling. Critically, we will upgrade millions of homes so that we can deliver lower bills and warmer homes. We are committed to that because we understand that, throughout the country, people face a cost of living crisis, which we inherited from the Conservative Government, who did not do enough to insulate and protect people. We will not make that mistake. We are determined to do this. Again, I commend the regulations to the Committee.
Question put and agreed to.
Oral Answers to Questions
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(2 weeks, 3 days ago)
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Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
The previous Government’s record on fuel poverty was absolutely woeful, and we have had to inherit an incredibly challenging trajectory. We are doing everything we can to shift that by upgrading homes for families in fuel poverty, driving up standards in the rental sector so that we lift 1 million people out of fuel poverty and supporting over 3 million households with our warm homes discount, all while running with our mission for clean power.
Chris Law
Despite Scotland being one of the most energy-rich nations in Europe, decades of mismanagement by different colours of UK Government—whether Labour or Conservative—have led to a shocking one third of households in Scotland living in fuel poverty. That number is set to rise, along with energy bills. The Government were elected on Labour’s pledge to cut energy bills by £300, but yesterday the chair of GB Energy admitted that that was “not in its remit” and was completely unable to say when bills would come down, alleviating fuel poverty. If this is not another broken promise from the Prime Minister, can the Secretary of State confirm exactly when in this parliamentary term consumers in Scotland will see that reduction?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
Fuel poverty is devolved in Scotland. The Scottish Government have had the opportunity to make a dent in this problem for almost 20 years and they have not. Even now, as we are ramping up upgrades to help people with fuel poverty, the Scottish Government are raiding more than £200 million from retrofitting funds that could help families today. I will take no lectures from the hon. Gentleman on how we tackle this problem.
Mr Speaker
I call Wendy Chamberlain. She is not here. I call Frank McNally.
Frank McNally (Coatbridge and Bellshill) (Lab)
I commend the Minister for the announcement of support for those in most need this winter. Given Scotland’s colder climate, does the Minister share my view that, as she has just expressed, the Scottish Government’s decision to cut £200 million from the retrofitting budget is failing people in Coatbridge and Bellshill and across Scotland, and that with record funding from this UK Government in the Budget, they should reverse that cut?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
My hon. Friend is completely right. There is no justification for raiding retrofitting budgets, because we know that is the route by which we upgrade people’s homes to deliver homes that are warmer and cheaper to run. We are doing our bit to drive down energy bills and deliver clean power, which is the route to energy security and financial security. The Scottish Government need to crack on and do their bit.
Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)
Ms Polly Billington (East Thanet) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
We know that this winter has been difficult for many people who are struggling with high energy bills. We agreed the winter support package with industry and Energy UK to get support to the people who need it, and £500 million is being provided through industry. When combined with the support that we are providing through the warm home discount, that amounts to £1 billion for the families who we know need help this winter.
David Williams
As well as residents, businesses in the ceramics sector struggle with high energy bills and face many other pressures. Sadly, only yesterday more than 80 workers in my constituency lost their jobs when Royal Stafford, a historic ceramics manufacturer for nearly 200 years, went into liquidation—a devastating blow for the workers and their families. Will the Secretary of State meet GMB officials, Ceramics UK and me as a matter of urgency to explain how the Government will support the ceramics sector, protect jobs, and tackle the serious difficulties that energy-intensive industries face in decarbonising?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
My hon. Friend is right to point out that we need to reduce energy bills for businesses, including those in energy-intensive industries. I was sorry to hear about the job losses in his constituency, and one of the ministerial team will be happy to meet him. I must add, however, that this is exactly why we are running our clean power mission. We see that the route through which we can drive down bills is breaking our dependence on global fossil fuel markets over which we have no control, in order to take ourselves off the rollercoaster of price rises and price hikes that is so damaging to businesses. While we do that, we are working with Ofgem and industry to ensure that businesses are not being locked into expensive contracts, and to ensure that they have much stronger redress when things go wrong.
Michael Wheeler
I thank the Minister for all her work in this area. I know from conversations with my constituents that energy costs are a large part of the cost of living crisis for them. Following the Conservative party’s failure to protect our energy system and invest in home-grown clean power, can the Minister give us an update on what steps are being taken to tackle my constituents’ high energy bills?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
My hon. Friend is 100% right. The reason we are so exposed as a country to global fossil fuel markets and the rollercoaster that is damaging business and hurting consumers is the Conservative party’s failure to invest in home-grown clean power and to upgrade people's homes to insulate them from high prices. That is a record of which the Conservatives should be ashamed, and it is a record that we are determined to change.
Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)
Many households in my constituency are struggling with high energy bills because the last Government left us exposed to the unpredictable fossil fuel market. Does the Minister agree that the only way in which to protect residents in my constituency and across the country permanently is to unlock clean power that we control here in the UK?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
My hon. Friend is completely right. Every solar panel and every wind turbine that we put up takes us closer to delivering the energy security that we need to achieve financial security for families. That, combined with our drive to upgrade people’s homes, is what will protect households in the long term. It is the central mission of this team, this Department and this Government, and it is why we are running at clean power by 2030.
Ms Billington
In anticipation of the energy market reform that the last Government neglected to carry out, I look forward to hearing confirmation from my colleagues on the Front Bench that we may be able to find a way of insulating people in the long term—for the transition to decarbonising heat, for example. Can my hon. Friend confirm that, in future, we may be able to have a social tariff that protects the most vulnerable from the excesses of energy prices?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I agree with my hon. Friend that we urgently need to tackle the challenge of affordability. Energy is not a luxury good; it is foundational, and for too many people, this essential good is not affordable. A social tariff is one mechanism of responding to this, and there are different ways in which that can be implemented. We are looking at all the options, to ensure that families can get this essential good at more affordable prices.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
People living in rural locations disproportionately live in housing stock that is older and colder and does not have gas. In the Minister’s discussions with energy suppliers, will she please not forget to talk to the suppliers of liquefied petroleum gas and oil, since many of our constituents—particularly with the withdrawal of the winter fuel payment—are suffering a great deal?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We are very alive to the issues in rural communities, and we are working to ensure that there are solutions for all types of homes. We had record applications to our boiler upgrade scheme for heat pumps, a large number of which were from rural households. We are very clear as we roll out our plan that there will be a solution for every single household, so that everyone can benefit from homes that are warmer and cheaper to run.
Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)
This winter, many of my constituents are concerned about energy outages. Last Thursday, the Cooper school and Glory Farm school had to close for the entire day when they lost all electricity supply. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can ensure the grid has the capacity to avoid these outages, which are so damaging to homes, businesses and critical public services?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
Yes, we will meet the hon. Gentleman. We are working to ensure that outages are not the norm. This is obviously linked to weather issues that we are having to respond to, but the team has been working to ensure that households are not put in a difficult situation, and when they are, that we are responding as quickly as possible.
Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)
What would help bill payers is the £300 cut to energy bills that the Labour party promised in its manifesto. Instead, bills went up £149 in October, they went up £21 in January, and they are going up again by £99 in April. Can the Minister explain where the source of this departmental ineptitude lies, and would she like to apologise to the people of these islands for writing cheques that her party cannot cash?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
The hon. Member explains exactly why we need to wean ourselves off fossil fuel markets. That is why it is critical that we deliver clean power by 2030—that is the central mission of this team, and we are running at it. The Scottish Government do have the levers to protect households in fuel poverty. Before the hon. Member criticises us, they should get their house in order and get on with the job.
Sir Ashley Fox (Bridgwater) (Con)
Prior to the election, the Secretary of State promised to cut my constituents’ energy bills by £300. Would the Minister repeat that promise at the Dispatch Box?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We have a manifesto commitment to reduce energy bills by £300. We are doing everything we can. We have a legacy of record high energy bills. We are running at clean power because we think that is the route to delivering lower energy costs. We are upgrading people’s homes because we know that is the route to delivering homes that are warmer and cleaner to run. We are doing everything we can. The Conservative party oversaw a crisis for households, so before its Members start lecturing us on what we should do, they should be hanging their heads in shame.
Patrick Hurley (Southport) (Lab)
Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
The warm homes plan will upgrade up to 5 million homes with low-carbon solutions such as heat pumps, solar and insulation to deliver homes that are warmer and cheaper to run. We have already kick-started delivery, with up to 300,000 homes being upgraded this year alone. We will set out our plans in the spring on how we will ramp this up.
Anna Dixon
In 2023, it emerged that a number of substandard retrofitting works were carried out as part of Government schemes. In some cases, properties were left with structural damage. When households sought redress, they found that many of the authorised contractors had folded, and they have been left to pick up the bill. Will the Minister assure me and my constituents in Shipley that, under the warm homes plan, sufficient safeguards will be put in place to protect households from rogue companies?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
My hon. Friend raises an important point. We are aware of too many cases where home upgrades have not been done to the required standard. We are very clear that the ad hoc, fragmented system of regulating home upgrades that we inherited from the last Government is in dire need of reform. We will overhaul that system so that when people have home upgrades, they can be confident that they will be of the highest standard and that when things go wrong, they will have as much protection as possible and redress within the system.
Deirdre Costigan
The previous Government were content to sit back and allow developers to build homes that have locked people into years of expensive and dirty gas heating. How will the Minister ensure that the 1.5 million new homes the Government will deliver will not keep people dependent on outdated and costly gas heating systems?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
My hon. Friend is absolutely right; the new homes we build must be fit for the future and must be decent homes that comply with our carbon standards. We are working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to bring forward the future homes standard, and we will set out our plans for that in due course.
Jessica Toale
I have been shocked by the number of mouldy and damp homes that I have visited in my constituency. No one should be forced to live in such conditions. We have some of the leakiest homes in Europe as a result of the last Government’s failure to deal with the problem. Will the Minister tell me how our warm homes plan will improve housing conditions and bring down bills for my constituents in Bournemouth West?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
Cold, damp homes that are hard to heat are the reality for too many households in this country. That is the legacy of the party opposite and a legacy that we are absolutely determined to turn around. We are committed to upgrading homes in the rental sectors with our minimum energy efficiency standard so that we can make cold, draughty homes a thing of the past. We will ramp up our warm homes plan so that my hon. Friend’s constituents and constituents across the country will benefit from homes that are warmer and bills that are lower.
Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
Will the Minister acknowledge the amazing contributions of groups such as New Forest Friends of the Earth, which this very morning have been lobbying their MPs in Parliament Square on warm homes initiatives? They will be coming to the Government with some possibly costly proposals, but I hope that the Government, despite the economic legacy that they allegedly inherited, will give them a sympathetic hearing.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for reminding us about our economic inheritance. We are reaching out to organisations and stakeholders across the country—industry, charities and third sector organisations—to feed into our warm homes plan, so we are keen to hear ideas. We are conscious that we have an ambitious programme and we need to do a big scaling-up of home upgrades across the country, so we are definitely in the market for hearing from and reaching out to organisations that can come up with ideas.
Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)
Is it not a fact that, regardless of how much money is put into a warm homes scheme, social tariffs or whatever, consumers can never be insulated against the massive cost of the mad net zero policy that will require thousands of new turbines, acres of solar farms and miles of new transmission lines, all at a cost to the consumer? How on earth does the Minister believe that we will deal with the issue of fuel poverty in this country with that cost?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I will say to the right hon. Gentleman that at the moment, families are not insulated from fossil fuel markets. We have seen one of the worst energy crises, which has had a huge impact on the cost of living. The status quo is not tenable. We already have record-high energy prices and the only way that we are going to bear down on that is through clean power. The alternative is to do nothing—but we have seen the impact of doing nothing over the last 14 years and consumers and constituents across the country are the ones being impacted. We will absolutely drive forward with clean power by 2030 because that is our route to providing an energy system that delivers energy security and that can deliver financial security.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
The Minister came to the House previously and gave us some encouragement about the warm homes scheme and how it has been discussed with the regions, the Northern Ireland Assembly in particular. Since that statement, has she had the opportunity to speak to the relevant Minister in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland to ensure that we can all gain from the warm homes scheme, which the Minister is proposing in a positive fashion?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We are speaking to all the devolved Administrations. We are constantly engaging with them, including in our inter-ministerial group. On this specific issue of home upgrades and how we drive up standards, we are working with the Scottish, the Welsh and the Northern Ireland Administrations.
Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
Home insulation delivers warm homes and lower bills. I have visited Government-backed schemes across the country and seen their impact on households and consumers, but we also know that there are too many examples of homes not being upgraded to the required standard. We are not happy or comfortable with that. We are committed to overhauling system so that when people have home upgrades, they can be confident that they will be of the highest standard and that, if things go wrong, they will have redress so that we can take them on this journey with us.
Andrew George
Further to the questions raised by the hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) and several other hon. Members, I, too, have picked up numerous cases in my constituency of Government-sponsored defective home insulation work and of extortionate, poor-quality and defective work of unscrupulous cowboy contractors who masquerade as operating under Government schemes. This includes Mrs King in Helston in my constituency who has paid out £19,000 to have insulation installed and then removed. I am pleased with the Minister’s response, but surely the Government need to do more to give householders confidence that these projects are both cost-effective and provide proper redress.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
The hon. Gentleman is right: it is just not good enough for any householder to get a home upgrade that is not up to standard. I am sorry to hear about the example of Mrs King. We are working with Members across the House on supporting a number of individual cases. If it is a Government-backed scheme that is at fault, mechanisms are in place for the work to be remediated at low cost. But, at the end of the day, we have acknowledged that the system requires root and branch reform so that when consumers opt for upgrades they can have the confidence of knowing that they will deliver what we are saying: warm homes that are cheaper to run.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)
I call the Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee.
Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)
Next week, the Select Committee will be hearing from some of the victims of the botched solid wall insulation installed under the previous Government’s energy company obligation and GB insulation scheme. That includes people whose homes may well have to be rebuilt, as the cost of repairing the damage may be higher. Will the Minister tell us how such a thing could have happened, and will she confirm that she is happy to come back to the Select Committee to add to the comments that she has already made about rebuilding consumer confidence after the disaster under the previous Government?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
What is clear to us as a new Government is that the system of regulating home upgrades was too ad hoc and too fragmented. Accountability was not clear enough and consumers were not at the heart of the system. We are committed to turning around that system. Put simply, when someone has a home upgrade, they need to have the confidence that it will work for them and that, when things go wrong, redress will be put in place. I am committed to update the Select Committee on the progress that we are making on getting a grip of what we have inherited and on making sure that such a thing never happens again for consumers.
Pippa Heylings (South Cambridgeshire) (LD)
As we have been hearing, Dickensian conditions of cold, damp and mouldy homes are shamefully on the increase. In my constituency, more than 4,000 households are having to make that difficult decision between eating and heating because of the previous Government’s dither and delay on insulation. However, even now, local authorities and families are in limbo, anxiously awaiting confirmation of the 2025-26 funding for ECO4 and the Great British Insulation scheme through a ministerial statement. Will the Minister act with the urgency that is needed to bring those schemes and the warm home scheme forward to tackle fuel poverty?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank the hon. Member for pointing out the inheritance and the legacy. That is material, because it is the backdrop to everything we are trying to do. We are clear that we need to drive forward with momentum and pace. That is why we are already upgrading up to 300,000 homes this year alone. It is also why we are working with local authorities and social housing providers to deliver warm homes that are cheaper to run for communities across the country. We are absolutely moving at pace with our warm homes plan. We will be setting out that plan, and at its heart is an ambition to ramp up the number of upgrades massively, so that more families across the country can benefit from what we know works: warm homes and lower bills.
Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
We know that people are frustrated with standing charges, and we are committed as a Government to reducing them. As an initial step, the regulator Ofgem is consulting on giving people the option of no standing charge tariffs within the price cap, and we will continue to work with the regulator to ensure that we lower standing charges in the fairest way possible.
Victoria Collins
Lesley from Tring is one of my constituents who just missed out on the winter fuel allowance. She said she will be
“spending most of the winter in bed”
because she is struggling with energy costs. While so many are struggling with the cost of energy, standing charges disproportionately affect those on lower incomes such as Lesley. Will the Government meet Ofgem to discuss those disparities and prepare detailed action to review standing charges for a fairer system?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I am sorry to hear about the case of Lesley, and I know there are people across the country who have this frustration with standing charges. I reassure the House that we have a commitment to reducing them. We are working with Ofgem on a set of options. Our challenge is to ensure that standing charges do not penalise some households and that they are as fair as possible. That is what we are committed to doing, and that is what we are working every day to deliver.
Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
I am happy to meet the hon. Gentleman. We know that we have a job to do to ensure that all insulation is up to standard and that we have the right measures for every type of household. I am keen to engage with him and Members across the House.
Alistair Strathern (Hitchin) (Lab)
The UK has a fantastic £26 billion clean tech sector, leading the way in innovation and carbon reduction for everything from clean power to sustainable agriculture. However, all too often, red tape and bureaucracy are locking in dependency on fossil fuels and foreign oil and gas. How can we work across Government to cut back on this unnecessary red tape, and ensure that our schemes support the leading tech and innovation that our best-of-British producers are bringing forward?
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
Miatta Fahnbulleh
The right hon. Member is right to raise this issue. We have to deliver on the teleswitching transition. We are behind where we need to be, but we are working with industry and Ofgem to make sure that households are not left in the dark, and that everyone can upgrade to smart meters, which will be much better for them. I am keen to work with him and Members from all parts of the House to make sure that we get this right for his community and other communities that are affected.
Sarah Champion (Rotherham) (Lab)
The Government procurement budget is around £300 billion. Can the Minister please tell us what percentage of his allocation will go to British businesses? Will he confirm that where we have to import, no modern slavery will be imported into this country?
ECO4 and Insulation Schemes
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(4 weeks, 1 day ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a statement about the energy company obligation 4 and Great British insulation schemes. The Government have identified an emerging issue of poor-quality solid wall insulation installed under those two inherited schemes.
Energy company obligation 4 began in April 2022, and the Great British insulation scheme began in May 2023. Around 65,000 households have had solid wall insulation installed under the schemes. In October 2024, TrustMark, the independent body that oversees tradespeople working in homes, did routine audits and found significant examples of solid wall insulation under those schemes that did not meet the requisite standard.
At that point, TrustMark began suspending a number of the installers responsible. After officials in our Department were made aware of the issues, they asked TrustMark to conduct a much fuller audit, which concluded in mid-December. Officials informed Ministers at the start of December about the situation, and told them that early findings suggested that there were widespread cases of poor-quality installations that did not meet the required standard. Since that point, we have consulted the certification bodies responsible for overseeing the work, and the Building Safety Regulator, to understand the true scale and nature of the emerging problem.
It became clear to me that there is a serious systemic issue around ECO4 and GBIS solid wall insulation. It ranges from minor problems, such as missing or incomplete paperwork, to major problems, such as exposed insulation or poor ventilation, which, if not fixed, could lead to damp and mould. As more poor-quality work has come to light, a total of 39 businesses have been suspended from installing new solid wall insulation in people’s homes. I can inform the House that suspended installers will not be able to deliver new solid wall insulation under any Government schemes until they have fulfilled their obligations to put any issues right.
Additional on-site audits are being conducted as I speak, so that we can get a full picture of the scale of the problem and identify affected households. The auditing work continues at pace, and we have put in place a comprehensive plan for immediate repair and remediation where needed. Let me be absolutely clear about this: installers must fund any repair work themselves and carry it out as soon as possible. Consumers should not be asked to pay a penny towards the cost of getting the problems fixed.
We have instructed Ofgem, the energy regulator, to oversee that work. Ofgem will work with TrustMark and certification bodies to ensure that it is delivered at speed. Non-compliant work found through the audits is already being fixed. In the very small number of cases in which TrustMark audits found health and safety concerns, including wires not being fitted properly, the problems are being fixed urgently, with the expectation that they should be resolved within 24 hours.
Critically, I reassure the House that additional monitoring and checks are being put in place to ensure that future solid wall insulation is done to the requisite standard. It is also important to say that, based on what we know so far, we believe that the issues we have discovered are specific to solid wall insulation installed under ECO4 and GBIS. Stronger systems of checks and balances are in place for other schemes that involve local authorities and social housing providers, so we do not expect to see the same scale of problem there. However, the Government are reviewing the quality of solid wall insulation under other schemes. I will update the House on the results of that work as soon as they are available. We will continue to require the urgent remediation of any issues found across all Government energy efficiency schemes.
I know that this will be concerning news for families who have had solid wall insulation fitted through those schemes. Getting this sorted for those customers is our No. 1 priority. Since I was informed of the problems, I have worked with Ofgem to develop a full plan for assessing all affected properties and getting any problems fixed. Let me set out what our plans mean for those families. Ofgem will now oversee quality checks on all solid wall insulation installed under either scheme, to identify households that might be affected. That will begin with every measure being examined over the coming weeks by qualified professionals, and that will include looking at photographic evidence. If a quality check raises issues, the certification body that oversees the installer, or TrustMark, will arrange an inspection of the property and the problem will be fixed as soon as possible. Installers will be required to provide evidence to TrustMark that issues have been properly fixed. Let me reiterate our assurance that where solid wall insulation under the schemes has not been done right, consumers should not have to pay a penny to fix that.
We are clear that the responsibility for finding and fixing any problems lies with those who carried out the work. Consumers do not need to take any action now. However, given the inevitable concern among those who have had those measures installed, all households with solid wall insulation fitted under the schemes will be sent a letter from Ofgem in the next three weeks. It will set out the steps that we are taking, and how households can proactively raise concerns. We are also setting up a gov.uk advice page specifically for those affected.
The Government are moving fast to protect households, but I must be honest with the House: these issues are the result of years of failure in a system that must be reformed. Home upgrades are, we believe, one of the best tools to get bills down for good and deliver warm homes. That is why our warm homes plan will cut bills for millions of households by upgrading their homes, including with solar panels, batteries, heat pumps and energy efficiency measures such as double glazing and loft insulation. However, the Government have inherited a fragmented and confusing system of protections for people who want to insulate their homes—too many organisations with different roles and responsibilities, not enough clarity for consumers about who to turn to if things go wrong, and problems that should have been picked up earlier being missed. The system is in dire need of reform.
Installers are responsible for poor-quality installations, but they have been allowed to operate in a failed system that has left some households exposed to bad practices. The system can no longer command confidence, which is why we are committed to overhauling it, and to driving up quality and protecting consumers through the warm homes plan. We will look at the entire landscape —from how installers work in people’s homes and are certified and monitored, to where homeowners turn for rapid action and enforcement if things go wrong—and we will ensure that there is more of a guiding mind overseeing upgrades across the system.
The steps I have set out demonstrate that the Government will do whatever it takes to protect consumers. We will regularly report back to the House about the steps being taken. We have set up a process through which colleagues from across the House can raise concerns about their constituents. Above all, we are determined to ensure that families are never let down in this way again. We will put in place a robust system of compliance, audit and regulation, so that consumers have the confidence to take up the offer of upgrading their homes. We will do what is necessary to ensure that families can have warmer homes and lower bills. I commend this statement to the House.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
I call the shadow Minister.
Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)
I thank the Minister for advance sight of her statement, and for taking the time to meet me this morning prior to making the statement.
The ECO scheme and the Great British insulation scheme were set up because we know that improving the energy efficiency of homes is one of the best ways to cut energy bills and keep people warm. This is especially the case for those who are in fuel poverty. When we took office in 2010, just 14% of homes in this country had an energy performance rating of A to C; today, that figure is around 50%, and for social housing, we went from 24% in 2010 to 70% today. That is a record that we are proud of—a record of reducing bills for households and keeping families warm. Almost half of the measures installed under GBIS have been in low-income households.
Solid wall insulation is a small proportion of the overall work that the ECO scheme and the Great British insulation scheme undertook. The vast majority of installations under those schemes have been cavity wall and loft insulation, alongside installations of smart thermostats and boiler upgrades under the ECO scheme. However, it is deeply concerning that examples of substandard solid wall insulation have been identified in some of the installations under those schemes. We of course support the action that the Minister has announced today, and Ofgem being given responsibility for overseeing the repairs and remediation, and it is right to conduct additional on-site audits to inform action moving forward. I thank TrustMark for the work it has done to identify examples of poor-quality solid wall insulation, and we also welcome the fact that there will be a review of the quality of solid wall insulation under other schemes. It is absolutely right for installers to fund the repair work, and to ensure that the situation is remedied for affected households as soon as possible. Nobody should have to live in a house with damp or mould as a result of poor-quality insulation.
Could the Minister, in addition to taking the action that she outlined in her statement, please answer the following questions? First, have the audits undertaken so far identified what proportion of the solid wall insulations are affected by poor-quality work? Can she confirm that all 39 companies that have been suspended still exist, and set out the mechanism by which they will be required to remedy their work? What action is being taken to make sure that remedial work is of the required standard, to ensure that consumers are protected from yet more poor-quality work? What action is the Minister taking to make sure that everyone who had solid wall insulation installed under the schemes is informed promptly and in full, and that nobody will be missed? Will she publish a full list of the 39 companies suspended from the scheme for carrying out poor-quality work, and has the Department considered taking legal action against them?
Members in all parts of the House want to ensure that families have a warm and comfortable home that is efficient and cheap to run. The Minister has our assurance that we will work cross-party to ensure remediation for those affected.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank the hon. Member for his response. I am glad that there is consensus across the House that energy efficiency measures and home upgrades are key to delivering warmer homes and lower bills, and I hope all Members are supportive of the action the Government are taking.
In answer to the hon. Member’s questions, we are still conducting audits to get a full picture. From sampling that has been done—I stress that the sampling was geared towards the installers that we thought were most risky—it seems that a significant proportion of that sample has major issues, which is why we are taking this action. On the 39 installers that have been suspended, we are working through certification bodies and TrustMark to require them to go into households and remediate the work. In the cases that we have audited, that is happening. The vast majority of installers want to do the right thing and want to do a good job, and where issues have been flagged, they are repairing the work. Where we think there are problems, we have mechanisms in place for making sure that the installers deliver on their obligations, and the guarantee system acts as a backstop.
A crucial question is how we ensure both that where remediation work is being done, it is being done to the right standard, and that future solid wall insulations are done to a better standard. We are putting in place additional spot checks across the piece to make sure that where work has been remediated, it has been done to the required standard, and critically, all solid wall insulations will be given more monitoring and checks. Suppliers have committed to that, so that when people are having this work done, they can be confident that it is being done to a much better standard than we have seen.
On keeping everyone informed, we will be writing through Ofgem to all households that have had solid wall insulation installed. We will be doing quality checks on all 65,000 solid wall insulations. I should stress that we hope the vast majority of those will be okay and that any issues will be minor, but we want to do a quality check across the piece. Our priority is getting in, making sure we are doing a proper inspection of the property, and getting key issues remediated as quickly as possible. Through all of that, our priority is the consumer, whose experience has to be as hassle-free, stress-free and cost-free as possible. This should never have happened in the first place, and we are determined to get this right and fix it on those consumers’ behalf.
Imran Hussain (Bradford East) (Ind)
As the Minister knows, I have long campaigned in this area, and I am grateful to her for meeting my hon. Friend the Member for Burnley (Oliver Ryan) and myself, along with the SSB victims support group, last year to discuss these important issues. As such, I welcome the concrete steps that the Minister intends to take in this area. She will know that many of the victims of the SSB Law scandal were directly impacted through faulty cavity wall insulation, but the steps that the Minister has outlined today are about solid wall insulation. Can she confirm that exactly the same actions will be taken when we are dealing with cavity wall insulation, and if not, why not? Will she also agree to make sure that compensation is available—whether through remedial work or in other ways—for all those impacted by the cavity wall insulation scandal?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank my hon. Friend for his avid and consistent campaigning on these issues. As he knows, there is an ongoing investigation into the case of SSB Law at the moment.
To answer my hon. Friend’s specific question, for any insulation that is installed under Government schemes, we expect that the system will kick in and respond. We are aware of cases that have been raised with TrustMark and other bodies, and we are working to make sure those are remediated. Where the insulation has not been installed under a Government scheme—we have examples of that, where constituents have engaged with insulation schemes that are not Government schemes—there is a different set of mechanisms. We are working with the system to make sure we are responding to households, because as I have said, this is not the fault of individual households; the system is not working properly. We are going to prioritise Government schemes, because we have the levers, but we recognise that there is an issue for households that have had work done outside Government schemes.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)
I thank the Minister for advance sight of her statement. I can only imagine the frustration that consumers feel when they go through the quite often complicated process of trying to upgrade their home to bring down their bills for good, only to be met with substandard work and a subsequent lack of enforcement. Liberal Democrat Members recognise that the Government have inherited a fragmented and confusing system, and that the focus today is on consumers and on remedial work affecting the shoddy work they have had installed. I am glad that the Government are committed to ensuring that the onus of that remedial work does not land in the pockets of consumers.
We agree that the system needs a complete overhaul, especially since the last Conservative Government left the Great British insulation scheme falling woefully short of the targets it set for itself and supporting far too few people far too slowly, while some who did receive installations have found them to be well below the required standard. If faults are found with other energy efficiency measures, will the Minister guarantee that consumers do not have to pay a penny for those, as for the ones she has highlighted? How soon can consumers expect their quality checks to be delivered, and will priority be given to households in fuel poverty as well as to the elderly and the vulnerable?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank the hon. Member, and I am again glad to hear that she agrees we need a big overhaul of the system, which is absolutely our focus and our commitment. On other measures under ECO and GBIS, audits are not finding the same scale of systemic problems. We think the problem is focused on solid wall insulation in particular. We are doing stress tests and additional audits of other measures to make sure, but we think there is a specific problem with those measures, so we are focusing on them and moving at pace to get them remediated. Where we are finding major issues, we are setting expectations that that work is prioritised, and installers are coming in and remediating it as soon as possible.
Under the existing publicly available specification framework, remediation after installers have not put the work right has to be done within 12 weeks, and we are setting the expectation so the system moves at pace to respond to consumers. We will absolutely be looking to prioritise households in fuel poverty and vulnerable households. We are doing two things: we are contacting them, but we will also create the ability for people to reach out if they are worried or vulnerable, so that we are doing the necessary triaging and, critically, getting into properties to fix work that has not been done right.
Oliver Ryan (Burnley) (Lab/Co-op)
I sincerely thank the Minister for her great work on this. In the six months she has been in post, she has made more progress than the last lot did in 14 years. This has been a serious problem for victims in Burnley, so I thank her. I am glad she is looking at earlier schemes, too, because many homes have fallen victim to cowboy builders and failed insulation over several years. I look forward to her updates on earlier schemes, which needed to be actioned by the previous Government but were not, and were ignored for an awful long time. I particularly welcome the stronger regulation, the clarity for consumers and the clear process for complaints, which will make a genuine difference.
I have two questions. Will the bans on particular companies follow the directors of those companies? Too often, we have seen companies being established and putting in poor insulation, and then the directors go away, extinguish the company and start again somewhere else. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford East (Imran Hussain) asked, will this cover cavity wall insulation where it has been Government-backed?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank my hon. Friend for all the work he has done on this, and for engaging with me and my Department. We are aware of instances where companies have folded so as not to deliver on their obligation to remediate work, and have then set up again. We are putting in place processes through the certification bodies to mitigate that, with a clear expectation that companies will not be taken on by another certification body if they do not get the work right.
Our priority at the moment is solid wall insulation, because that is where we think there is an immediate problem with ECO and GBIS. We are aware, from Members contacting us, of the wider issues that need to be addressed. I come back to the fact that we understand that the system has not been working for consumers. Quite frankly, the quality—and quality assurance—across the system has been far too fragmented and patchy. Critically, consumer protection has not been underscored in the way it needs to be. We are looking to overhaul the system, and we are conscious that there are issues with other schemes and are thinking about the best way in which we can resolve them.
Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)
I refer the Minister to the last words in her statement, which were that the Government will “ensure that families have lower bills.” There will always be a problem with insulation in a country with a massively degraded and older housing stock, which underlines the vital importance of cheap energy. We have had a month with virtually no wind and no sun, and so-called green energy is producing hardly any of our energy. We are importing energy, we are stopping drilling in the North sea and we are not building gas-fired power stations. What about old people? Their heating allowance has been taken away, and we are crucifying them with ever higher bills. Meanwhile, China—its annual increment in emissions is more than our entire emissions—is going on pumping out emissions, and “Drill, baby” Trump is pumping out emissions. Why are we crucifying our old people?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I would say to the right hon. Gentleman that the status quo is not fit for purpose. He says we should not take action, yet the last Government presided over the worst energy crisis we have seen for a generation. Over the past two and a half years, we saw his model result in record energy bills. The Conservatives were willing and content to accept that, and they thought it was tenable. It is not acceptable to us. Our view is that we have to wean ourselves off our over-reliance on global fossil fuel markets that are volatile and that, critically, will not guarantee lower bills.
We are committed to delivering clean power—yes, because it delivers on our climate requirements, but critically because we think that that is the route by which we will deliver homes that are warmer and cheaper for consumers. At the heart of everything we are doing is ensuring that consumers—who rely on energy not because it is a luxury good, but because it is absolutely foundational—have energy at stable prices that they can access and afford. This is not a status quo we are willing to accept, and that is why we are taking action.
Terry Jermy (South West Norfolk) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for her statement, and I commend her for the work she has been doing. It must be said that we have inherited an almighty mess from the previous Government, which is incredibly frustrating. She will know how important this issue is to my constituency, which is rural, with too many people on low wages. We have more than our fair share of poorly insulated homes, and fuel poverty is therefore a real concern. Can the Minister reassure my residents, and I am sure many residents across the country, that the news of this latest setback will not delay progress on the improvements in rural communities such as mine?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank my hon. Friend, and we are absolutely committed to upgrading people’s homes. We believe that that is the route to delivering warmer homes that are cheaper to run, and that commitment stands for all communities. We want to move at pace with our warm homes plan because we want to deliver upgrades in people’s homes. However, we are very clear that part of that has to be an overhaul of the system, because if consumers want to go on this journey, they need to be confident that the work done will be of the utmost quality and standard, and that if things go wrong, we have proper redress systems in place. That is not what we inherited, but it is absolutely what we must deliver.
Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)
I welcome what the Government are saying about the need to address this issue, and it will be reassuring for the very many people who have raised the problem with their MPs. However, are they also going to look at whether there is a wider problem with insulation generally, as has been mentioned, and have they had discussions with the devolved Administrations about schemes in the wider UK?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank the hon. Member, and yes, we have spoken to the devolved Administrations. We have spoken to the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government, and we are working closely and collaborating with them. It is important to stress that schemes operate in slightly different ways. In the case of the Welsh Administration, we think greater checks and balances are in place in the schemes with local authorities and social housing providers. I think there is a collective appetite and desire to work together, because everyone agrees that home upgrades are fundamental to delivering warmer homes and cheaper bills. We need to get the delivery right to make sure we deliver at the scale and pace of our ambition, but do so with quality at the heart of it.
Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for her statement. Parts of my constituency are 1,000 feet above sea level and our winters can be bitter, so good-quality insulation schemes are really important. I welcome the Minister’s emphasis on much better standards, but on a wider scale, can she please tell me how she is going to grow the workforce needed to deliver these initiatives for the future?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
My hon. Friend is absolutely right: building the supply chain and the workforce will be critical to delivering the pace and the scale of our ambition. We are already putting in place training schemes to build up the next generation of installers, and we are working with local and regional government on how to build our supply chain. A key part of the warm homes plan will be working with a range of organisations from local to national level to build the supply chain and ensure that, through that, we are delivering quality jobs that pay a decent wage. This is a big opportunity. There is an opportunity for consumers, but we also believe that this is good for the economy, including particular local economies, and working with local and regional government to ensure that we realise that is a priority.
Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)
I thank the Minister for her statement, in which she confirmed that the 39 suspended companies are suspended from providing new solid wall insulation under the scheme. Are they also suspended from providing other sorts of insulation, such as external, loft and cavity wall insulation?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We have suspended the 39 companies, and under Government schemes they will not be doing any work on solid wall insulation. The vast majority, particularly those installers that TrustMark believes are risky, are prohibited from doing other work. Where we have evidence that some of the companies are delivering loft insulation, for example, and other measures to standard, they are allowed to do that, but we are keeping this closely under review. TrustMark is looking at the 39 companies constantly, and there is a big onus on the requirement on those companies to deliver and remediate the work in order to be able to any further work.
Julia Buckley (Shrewsbury) (Lab)
I congratulate the Minister on her sterling work to tackle this minefield of rogue companies who abuse the good will of residents when installing energy saving measures, by scamming them with substandard products and damaging their homes. Will she work with colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to consider extending the scope of this excellent regulation to look at spray foam insulation? My historic market town constituency of Shrewsbury has many beautiful older properties and many older residents. It saddens me that it was elderly residents such as David and Sue, and Mr and Mrs Balcombe, who were approached by ruthless companies offering spray foam insultation, despite the fact that it was inappropriate for their older properties. As a consequence of the damage caused, those families have faced bill after bill for surveys and remedial work, costing tens of thousands of pounds. Crucially, they are now struggling to sell their homes, as lenders will not approve mortgages for homes with faulty spray foam insulation. David and Sue now face bills to replace their roof, and sadly Mr Balcombe passed away recently, leaving his widow to continue the fight for a resolution to this nightmare. May I ask that families such as those be considered for the same enhanced regulation and compensation scheme?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank my hon. Friend for raising the issues in her constituency. We are aware of the issues with spray foam insulation—indeed, a number of Members from across the House have raised it with us—and we are working with MHCLG. For example, we have done a lot of work on mortgages, and have worked with lenders to ensure that there is not a blanket policy of not giving mortgages where there is spray foam insulation within the property. We acknowledge that there is a problem and that we need to strengthen the regulation, assurance and consumer protection across the piece with all energy efficiency measures. That is why, alongside remediating the immediate issues that we find within ECO4 and GBIS, we are working at pace to deliver wholesale regulation of the way the system works.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
Over the past 14 years, I have regularly raised the building industry and its failures to provide decent homes of decent quality. The one strand that follows all the way through is the failure properly to inspect independently work that has been carried out, to certify it, and to ensure that it is fit for purpose. Will the Minister ensure that, beyond the current audit, all future work is properly inspected, certified and signed off, so that the people receiving the insulation can feel confident that the work has been done properly?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
The hon. Gentleman is right. There is a poor and weak system of inspection, certification and assurance. We believe that that is one of the reasons why we have ended up where we have, and we are clear that we must reform that part of the landscape. In the end, we must command the trust and confidence of consumers, and problems such as this fundamentally undermine that trust and confidence. As part of reforming the system we will look at how we inspect work when it is done, how we monitor what has been done and, critically, how we can have that assurance so that when consumers have work done, they can be confident that it is done to the highest standard.
Henry Tufnell (Mid and South Pembrokeshire) (Lab)
I commend the Minister for her statement. I have heard from many constituents in Pembrokeshire who have been affected by these schemes, with incorrect insulations of air source heat pumps, faulty or shoddy building work, lack of valid warranties, grant misuse, and regulators such as TrustMark simply siding with the contractors. All of that has a disproportionate effect on vulnerable groups. Does the Minister agree that it is only thanks to this Labour Government that we are finally sorting out the failed system of regulation?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
My hon. Friend is right to highlight the problems we are finding across the piece. We are clear that the system we inherited is not fit for purpose. It is a patchwork of disjointed, fragmented regulation and consumer protection, it is frankly a nightmare for consumers to navigate through, and it is not fit for purpose. There has to be a root and branch overview of how the system works. Our priority is to ensure that if consumers choose to do home upgrades, it is as easy as possible for them to navigate the system, and they can have quality. The difference between this Government and the previous one is that we believe there is a role for Government. There has to be a guiding mind overseeing home upgrades across the piece, and we must ensure that the system is delivering for consumers.
Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)
I welcome today’s statement, but it is not just about solid wall insulation. It is not right that anybody has to take any ECO4 supplier to the small claims court to get recompense for fixing shoddy work. TrustMark as a process is intrinsically ill-designed to protect vulnerable people, because it presumes that acceptance of a supplier on to the scheme is a sufficient safeguard. Will the Minister consider—I bear in mind what she has already said—empowering local authorities to sign off work before a penny is paid?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
The right hon. Member is right to highlight the important role that local authorities can play. Across the country, including in Wales, where local authorities or regional government are overseeing this work and providing additional quality and checks, we are not seeing the same scope of problems. We are looking at this in the round. We are clear that the status quo is not fit for purpose and that we must put in additional checks, balances and assurances. We think there are lessons to be learned from what is happening in Wales and Scotland, and what is happening in regional and local government.
Clive Efford (Eltham and Chislehurst) (Lab)
I welcome my hon. Friend’s statement, and congratulate her on the detail with which she is answering questions and on showing how much she is on top of her brief. Only on Friday, a constituent came to see me who had a new boiler fitted and insulation done under an ECO grant. The work had been subcontracted by the company that originally won the contract, and that something that exacerbates the problem. That company clearly was not up to the standard required to carry out the work, and lots of remedial work was required. How can we ensure that the people who win these contracts do not subcontract to companies that are not capable of carrying out the work, meaning that we end up with the situations the Minister has described?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
My hon. Friend is right to highlight subcontracting within the system. Often we find that subcontracting is happening two or three times, and the starting client is not overseeing the work in the way that they should. That is why we are clear that we must look at the entire system, and part of that is looking at who is delivering the work, how they are delivering it, and how we ensure that there is proper accountability in the system. It is obvious to me that the current system does not allow for that accountability, and that is what puts consumers in a difficult position.
Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)
I am sure the Minister will recall our intimate Adjournment debate before the House rose for the Christmas recess—it was just her and me here. [Interruption.] Yes, and it was the day after our Christmas party, so it was an interesting debate.
I sincerely welcome the steps that the Minister has outlined for solid wall insulation. The problem I have is that, fundamentally, all these issues apply to spray foam insulation, as I said in my Adjournment debate. There are blanket bans by some mortgage providers: research by the BBC showed that one in three of the top 12 mortgage lenders have such policies. I am more than happy to send on that information again. There is a real issue of fairness and justice here. It is right that we are seeking to get this right for people done wrong by those who have not installed insulation to spec, but the same must be true for those who are victims of the spray foam insulation scandal, including my constituents Tom and Norma in Knaresborough.
The Minister has acknowledged in her statement that there are systemic issues, that TrustMark is not doing its work and that there are to be audits of solid wall insulation. However, when I asked whether there was an understanding of how many people had been impacted by spray foam insulation, I was told that there was not a number. How can it be that we are counting how much of one sort of insulation has been installed, but not another? Some 250,000 people have been affected by spray foam insulation. Will she give justice to them, too?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank the hon. Member for all the work he has done on spray foam insulation and the campaigning he has done for his constituents. I fondly remember that Adjournment debate with just the two of us, and I vividly remember the stories he told of Tom and Norma. I reiterate the commitment to work together to try to resolve this.
The difference between spray foam insulation and work done under the ECO and GBIS schemes is that, because those are Government-backed schemes, we have the data. Large numbers of people have had spray foam installed, and some but not all of that work was done through the green homes grant.
We recognise that there is a problem with the system of quality assurance and regulation across the piece—we have acknowledged that very clearly in the House. We will continue to work with MHCLG and other colleagues to think about what we can do on spray foam. The priority, as the hon. Member will understand, is households who have had work done under ECO and GBIS that, if we do not fix it quickly, could result in damp and mould. We must act quickly on that. However, I acknowledge that there is an issue with households that had spray foam insulation done under the old system. As I said when we had the debate, we will continue work to think about ways in which we can resolve that for those households.
Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)
I welcome the Minister’s statement and, in particular, her remarks on consumer protection. Following on from the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon), a constituent recently told me at my surgery about work carried out on their home under the last Government’s green homes grant. Following spray foam insulation being put into their loft, they have a leaking roof that cannot be accessed, as well as damp that was not there previously. Those issues have had a huge detrimental impact on their lives. They find themselves unable to afford remedial works amounting to thousands of pounds. What message can the Minister share with my constituents? Will she meet me to discuss spray foam insulation installed under the green homes grant scheme?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I will absolutely meet my hon. Friend to discuss spray foam insulation. Given the correspondence and parliamentary questions I have received on this issue, I offer to meet with hon. Members more broadly, because we need to ensure that we are listening to constituents. If the work was done under the green homes grant, we need to think about how we can get the system to respond as it should. I give that commitment to him and other hon. Members across the House who have cases in their constituencies and are worried about this.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
I apologise to the Minister, because like the hon. Members for Shrewsbury (Julia Buckley) and for Bolton West (Phil Brickell), and my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon), I will raise the issue of spray foam. My constituent Matt was told that his house was unmortgageable with the nation’s largest building society, despite his paying extra for an extensive survey of his timbers to prove that there was no problem. He has since been forced to replace his roof at a cost of £21,000 just to get a chance to remortgage and perhaps one day sell his house. The roofing companies told him that the market is booming for spray foam removal by the very same people who put it in, which feels like exploitation. How will the Government address that, and why are Government sites still promoting and recommending spray foam insulation?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
It is important to stress that the Government never recommend a particular solution. The approach that the last Government took and that we have adopted is that, in the end, people have to find the right measure for their home. We never promote any particular measure.
I acknowledge that there is a problem with spray foam, and that installers in the market are putting spray foam in properties where it is not fit for purpose. We have been doing a lot of work with colleagues at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to respond to that point about lenders. If there are specific cases where a lender finds something problematic despite a survey saying that it was absolutely fine, please feed that through to us, as we are continuing to work with the industry on that. There should not be a blanket ban.
It is important to stress that where spray foam insulation is carried out well and is appropriate for a property, it is a good thing, but I agree that there are too many cases where it has not been carried out well and is not appropriate. I therefore extend an offer to meet. We need to think about what we will do in response. We have inherited this system, and I wish I could change the past, but I cannot. What we can do is draw a line under it. We can absolutely ensure that we reform the system so that this never happens again, and so that we can command the trust of consumers.
Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield) (Lab)
My constituents have unfortunately faced a double whammy of not only having had defective cavity wall insulation installed, but being pursued by law firms such as SSB for adverse legal costs. Consumers were badly let down, and we need to ensure that does not happen again. Will the Minister assure us that this will not happen again under future programmes, such as the new warm homes plan? On pipelines, are the Government working cross-departmentally to ensure that we have the right skills and training for future programmes? We want to ensure confidence in the system.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
Let me reassure my hon. Friend that we are absolutely working to ensure that the lessons learned from the schemes we inherited are applied to the warm homes plan as we develop it, and that we put in place systems for checks, assurance and advice, so that consumers can have confidence. We are working across Government, because building up the supply chain and making sure that we have installers with the skills to do the work well is an absolute priority. We are working to deliver that.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Minister for a comprehensive response and, as importantly, for giving hope to all those people affected. That assures people and gives them confidence through their elected representatives in this House. In Northern Ireland, we have the affordable warmth scheme, which is different, but the goals are the same. Shortcomings have been identified; will the Minister be so helpful as to share the lessons learned with the Northern Ireland Assembly and the relevant Northern Ireland Minister? That is vital. If something goes wrong here, the lessons learned could help us to solve problems in Northern Ireland.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We will engage with colleagues in Northern Ireland. We are working closely with all the devolved Administrations. We are building up the evidence base on what happened and thinking about our response, and we are keen to share with other authorities any insights that we gain.
Draft Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) Regulations 2025
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(4 weeks, 2 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) Regulations 2025.
The draft regulations were laid before the House on 28 November 2024. As heat networks have not yet been debated in this Parliament, I want to say a few words about the context for the draft regulations. Some 23% of the United Kingdom’s carbon emissions come from heating buildings, so decarbonising heat is key to reaching our net zero commitments and to reducing our reliance on international fossil fuels as we sprint to clean power by 2030. Heat pumps and heat networks are the two principal technologies that we believe will achieve that.
We believe that heat networks will be key to reducing bills for the next generation. Their energy can be drawn from large, efficient heat pumps or even from heat that would otherwise be dumped into the air, such as from data centres and waste incinerators. Heat networks, which have been proven internationally to provide affordable low-carbon heat, are especially suited to dense urban areas. The Government therefore expect that about 20% of the UK’s heat demand will be met by heat networks by 2050, up from 3% today. I have visited Mersey Heat in Liverpool and seen at first hand the huge potential of heat networks, not just to benefit consumers but, critically, to regenerate our urban centres.
Alongside growing the market for heat networks, we need to ensure that the 470,000 households supplied by heat networks today, as well as the many households that will be connected in future, can receive a fair deal as the market grows. One of the biggest barriers is that heat networks are inconsistently regulated. As people on heat networks cannot change their supplier, heat networks are effectively a monopoly with a captive market, which makes it harder to ensure that consumers are treated fairly. Through lots of conversations with consumer groups and through Government-commissioned research, we can identify gaps where the current market is not providing consumers with a fair service, heating is less reliable, suppliers are less transparent and it is harder for consumers to represent themselves or make complaints.
The current situation is clearly intolerable. These are not just consumers, but people trying to keep themselves healthy and warm and trying to live their life. I spoke to the Association for Decentralised Energy in October about the need to ensure that these people are at the very heart of the energy market transition that we need to make and at the very heart of how we think about heat networks.
The Energy Act 2023 provides powers for the Secretary of State to introduce regulations across Great Britain that will protect heat network consumers comparably to consumers of other regulated utilities. The draft regulations are the first step in introducing this regulatory framework. They will introduce an authorisation regime to be implemented by Ofgem, which will work in a similar way to the gas and electricity licensing regimes that Ofgem already regulates. They take an outcomes-based approach to reflect heat networks’ diversity of scale and their nascent market position.
The draft regulations will ban running a heat network without an authorisation. To phase in market regulation, existing heat networks will automatically be given an authorisation. The conditions for authorisation are set by either the Secretary of State or Ofgem and apply rules for running a heat network. Ofgem will be able to monitor compliance with the regulations and act where appropriate. Actions that Ofgem can take include issuing information notices for compliance data, investigating suspected non- compliance, inspecting commercial premises and issuing a range of orders to require remedial action. Consumer redress orders can also be issued to require that affected consumers be given compensation.
The draft regulations will require Ofgem to publish statements of policy on how powers are used. Penalties will be proportionate to the authorised person’s size and the scale of harm that their non-compliance has caused. Additionally, the draft regulations will give Ofgem powers to set standards of performance for heat networks, determining minimum performance levels of service provision to consumers.
Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)
Like the Minister, I have visited heat networks around the country and I think they have a significant part to play. She has told us what she expects the heat network contribution to be in 2050, but can she tell us what she expects it to be in 2030? What steps are being taken now, other than changing the regulatory environment, to encourage the take-up of more heat networks around the country?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We are running at the roll-out of heat networks. We want to get to 20%—for me, that is the minimum level to reach by 2050—and we want to make huge progress in this Parliament. That means getting the investment framework right, so we are talking to industry and are thinking about what investment looks like so that we can scale it up in the UK. We are trying to create a regime in which local authorities can work in a co-ordinated way to incentivise the roll-out of heat networks in their patch. Critically, we are putting in a regulatory framework, because in the end we need consumers, whether they are commercial or domestic, to have faith and confidence that heat networks will deliver for them. The draft regulations are critical to showing people that a heat network is not just good for heating their home, but good for their pockets.
Graham Stuart
I appreciate the Minister’s enthusiasm. Can she put any kind of number on her expectation for this year and for the coming years until 2030? The year 2050 is a long way off, so I would like to know the trajectory and the Government’s priority now.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I would love to give the right hon. Gentleman a number, but as it is not fully in our gift, because we are working with industry partners to get to the scale we want to achieve, I will refrain from doing so at the moment. But will he please be absolutely reassured that we are trying to run at pace? I see the huge potential of heat networks. They are a way in which we can not only decarbonise our urban centres, but fundamentally lower bills for large numbers of consumers. We are doing everything we can to reassure industry, put incentives in place and ensure that we have a regulatory framework that absolutely works for industries and for consumers so that we can get to 20% sooner rather than later.
Let me say a little about how the draft regulations will apply parts 1 and 2 of the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007 with some modifications to apply them to heat networks. They will create the roles of consumer advocacy bodies for heat network consumers, which will be key to providing access to advice. They will also extend the Energy Ombudsman’s redress scheme to heat network consumers. The draft regulations will automatically enrol all heat networks into the scheme.
Hon. Members may have noted that the commencement dates for some of the provisions are slightly different. That is because delays to the passage of the Energy Act mean that Ofgem cannot commence regulatory activities before January 2026. To ensure that heat network consumers are afforded some support before then, because we know that that is critical, we are establishing the roles of consumer advocacy, advice and redress scheme providers earlier: in April 2025.
Finally, the draft regulations will make amendments to the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 to ensure that Ofgem can regulate consistently across Great Britain. My Department has consulted extensively with counterparts in the Scottish Government to reach agreement on those amendments.
The content of the draft regulations is based on two consultations: a 2020 consultation on creating a market framework and a 2023 consultation on consumer protection. Across both consultations, broad support was expressed for the structures that are being created in the draft regulations. The content of the authorisation conditions is still being consulted on; the outcomes will be published before the authorisation regime commences.
The draft regulations are the first step to introducing comprehensive regulation to the heat networks market. I am absolutely committed to ensuring robust consumer protections across the energy sector, because we have to maintain the confidence and the trust of consumers. Heat networks have huge potential to transform clean power, as I am sure everyone in this room agrees. Delivering cheap and efficient heat across the country is an absolute priority. The draft regulations will pave the way for a fairer industry that does not grow at the cost of consumers.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank hon. Members for their valuable contributions to the debate. It is great to see cross-party consensus on these important regulations.
The heart of our approach has been putting consumers front and centre in our energy transition. I reassure the Committee that that is not unique to heat networks; it is the approach that we are taking in every realm of the heat transition and the energy transition as we sprint to clean power by 2030. The draft regulations will begin the process of ensuring that existing and future heat network consumers both get a fair deal. I know of cases in my constituency, and in the constituencies of hon. Members I have spoken to across the House, where that is not happening, so we need to move at pace to ensure that it does.
I am excited about the potential of heat networks and what they can achieve, both for people’s pockets and, critically, for regenerating our urban areas. I hope that the consensus that we have achieved in this Committee Room today will continue in future debates as we move on to other areas of the energy transition.
Question put and agreed to.
Energy Company Obligation 4 and Great British Insulation Scheme
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(1 month ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
This statement will be made at a later date.
[HCWS373]
Draft Clean Heat Market Mechanism Regulations 2024
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Clean Heat Market Mechanism Regulations 2024.
The regulations were laid before the House on 21 November 2024. It is this Government’s mission to deliver warmer homes that are cheaper to run. Low-carbon heating is key to our efforts to lower emissions. It is also central to how we alleviate fuel poverty. Our goal is to make energy fair and affordable for all by strengthening the nation’s energy security and by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and international markets that we cannot control. That is at the heart of everything that we are trying to do as a Department.
We have experienced a particularly cold start to 2025 and we can no longer afford to leave consumers facing high energy bills and cold, draughty homes. That is why we are charting a way forward through our warm home plan: a new approach that will result in millions of homes being upgraded and lower energy bills for families across the country. At the same time, it will back British businesses and create new opportunities for jobs and skills in every part of the country.
We are running at this. We have already set in motion the development of new standards for minimum energy efficiency in the private and social rented sectors that will lift 1 million people out of fuel poverty. We have announced changes to planning restrictions—including the removal of the outdated 1 metre rule—that will make it easier for people to install heat pumps. We are expanding our boiler upgrade scheme, almost doubling the budget to £295 million for next year, so that more people can have access to support for installing heat pumps, and we are working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to make sure that we are building future-proof new homes.
Making the transition to cleaner, cheaper heating is one of the most important challenges that we face as a country. We are absolutely determined to make that transition in a way that is ambitious, achievable and, critically, absolutely affordable for consumers. Every household deserves the security of a home that they can afford to heat and we believe heat pumps have a key role to play in that. Heat pumps are, on average, three times more efficient than gas boilers and are powered by electricity that becomes cleaner every year as the share of renewables on the grid grows. Heat pumps can therefore slash the level of energy we use for heating and reduce our reliance on gas. That reliance cannot be overstated: nearly half of the UK’s total natural gas consumption every year is currently used for heating buildings, producing roughly a quarter of total greenhouse gas emissions.
The proposed changes to our energy system will not happen overnight but it is important that we communicate that this is part of a long-term plan, and that we will keep this as a key priority. Nowhere is that more important than the critical work we must do with business as we make this transition. It is essential that the businesses that we work with, throughout the supply chain, know that they can put in the steps they need to build skills, and that they will have incentives and support to deliver this transition, and to do the critical job of helping households benefit from the switch to the cleaner, more efficient heating that we believe heat pumps can provide.
That is why, in addition to direct support for heat pump installations through schemes like the boiler upgrade scheme, the warm homes social fund and the warm homes local grant, we are providing investment in home-grown heat pump production through the heat pump investment accelerator competition. It is also why we are supporting installers through the heat training grant and why we are stimulating further investment in the supply chain by introducing the clean heat market mechanism with this instrument.
Since taking office, we have taken steps to engage with and listen to all parts of industry about the overall approach that we need to take on this policy. We are committed to continuing those conversations in the months and years ahead, including in relation to the clean heat market mechanism. We are proposing a reformed scheme that will provide the UK’s heating industry with the stability, clarity and policy direction to build a strong and resilient heat pump market that will benefit from the transition as we sprint towards low-carbon heating. The changes that we have made to the previous Government’s proposal for the mechanism will ensure that manufacturers have the time they need to scale up the supply chain and expand sales without penalising consumers. We will also need manufacturers to have the incentives and clarity to drive the innovation we need in the market, so that we can ensure we are delivering heat pumps that are cheaper and that respond to changes in the market.
The scheme will require boiler manufacturers to achieve the sale and installation of a proportion of heat pumps relative to their gas and oil boiler sales or the equivalent credits from other heat pump manufacturers. For the first year of the scheme, starting on 1 April this year, this is set at 6% of relevant boiler sales. As set out in the consultation response published in November, we have also decided to reduce the payment in lieu for any missing heat pump credits to £500 for the first year from the £3,000 previously proposed. We have also aligned the periods over which boiler sales and heat pump installations will generate obligations and credits, respectively, providing manufacturers with more time to prepare.
We are confident that between 2025 and 2026, the market can achieve the volume of heat pump deployment that the scheme is targeting, building on the substantial growth in sales seen in 2024. We are committed to working with industry to do the vital work of boosting demand for heat pumps and ensuring that it is as easy and painless as possible for consumers to go on this journey with us.
We are committed to ensuring that the transition to clean, affordable heating works for homes and businesses. That means having consumers firmly in our mind’s eye as we develop policy in this area and ensuring that we are working in lockstep with industry. That will be at the heart of our approach in the warm home plan. The statutory instrument is just one part of our overall strategy for delivering homes that are warm and cheaper to run, but it is an important part of how we deliver warmer homes with lower energy bills. It signals our ambition to tackle fuel poverty, which is still experienced by far too many people in this country, as we make that vital sprint, as we must, to clean power by 2030.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
When the Conservative party was in government, it was willing to see sky-high energy bills. The reality in this country today is that, quite frankly, many people cannot afford the cost of energy. That is the reality that the Conservatives were happy to deal with, but it is not a reality that we believe is either tenable or acceptable, and it is one that we are determined to change. That is why we are making the sprint to clean power and are determined to deliver a warm home plan that can deliver cheaper and warmer homes for consumers across the country.
I will address some points that are quite frankly wrong. First, there will be no compulsion to impose heat pumps. Our job as a Government is to work with industry to make them as attractive a proposition for consumers as we can. We will not force people to adopt them, but we believe that heat pumps are three times more efficient than gas boilers and will be an attractive proposition for consumers. We saw demand for our boiler upgrade scheme reach record levels in 2024, because consumers are starting to realise what we know from the evidence base: that this proposition absolutely works for their pocket and for their homes. Our job is to ensure that not just wealthy households but every single household across the country can benefit from it.
To debunk the second point made by the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, this is absolutely not a tax. There is no requirement for industry to impose costs on consumers. We have worked very hard with industry to reform the proposal put forward by the Conservative party, which industry absolutely hated, to get to a proposition that we believe will do the job of incentivising the market for heat pumps, as everyone recognises we need to do, while protecting consumers.
Finally, we have to get to the right solution for every household in the end. We are not ideological about this. We care about getting consumers warmer homes and lower energy bills, and we will find a range of solutions that mean that where heat pumps work—we think that they will work in the majority of households, including in rural households—we will make it as easy as possible for consumers to adopt them. Where there is a need for alternative technologies, we are keeping those technologies under review so we can ensure the right solution for every single household.
The status quo is not tenable, nor should the Conservative party be proud of it. Quite frankly, it is a status quo that we are absolutely disgusted to have inherited. Our job is to take the country on the journey that we need, which is why we will not resile from driving forward with our clean power mission. In the end, we have to take ourselves off the rollercoaster of international fossil fuel markets over which we have no control. That is why we will drive forward our warm home plan. Heat pumps and the clean heat market mechanism will be a key part of that. I commend the draft regulations to the Committee.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester. We absolutely will approach it in that way. We know that we cannot do this on our own, and that we must work in collaboration with industry—that is what has got us to this point.
My hon. Friend is completely right to point out the flip-flopping from the Conservatives. Let me quote what the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine said about the clean heat market mechanism when he was in government:
“The Government back the dynamism of industry to meet the needs of British consumers, which is why we are taking a market-based approach that puts industry at the heart of leading a transformation of the UK heating market, while keeping consumers in the driving seat with choice. Through the planned low-carbon heat scheme—the clean heat market mechanism—we will provide the UK’s world-leading heating appliance industry with a policy framework that provides the confidence and incentive to invest in low-carbon appliances. That will make heat pumps a more attractive and simpler choice for growing numbers of British households.”––[Official Report, Energy Public Bill Committee, 6 June 2023; c. 145.]
That was when the hon. Member was enlightened.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
What happened to that guy, indeed. It is a shame to see the Conservative party flip-flopping rather than doing what it knows is right for the country and right for consumers.
Question put.
Heat Batteries: Decarbonising Homes
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
I thank everyone for their insightful contributions, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan), who I know works hard for her constituents, for bringing this issue to our attention.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to point to the inheritance that we are grappling with. The reality is that for too many people, energy is simply unaffordable. That is a reality that the last Government were willing to accept; it is not one that we think is tenable or that we are willing to accept. Every voice, every piece of new technology and every benefit must be considered as we try to reduce our reliance on gas and make our way forwards towards clean power by 2030, so I thank my hon. Friend for her research and work on heat batteries.
Heating our homes via low-carbon means is key to our efforts to tackle not just emissions but fuel poverty and the high cost of living that is biting across the country. As we enter the colder months of 2025, we are acutely aware of the financial pressures that families are under when heating their homes, which is why it is critical that we continue to move quickly towards cheaper, cleaner and more secure methods of heating homes for everyone across the country.
The Government were elected on an energy promise: to deliver warmer homes with lower energy bills for families across the country. Decent homes are the foundation of decent lives, and our warm homes plan is driven by the simple principle that every household deserves the security of a home that they can afford to heat.
Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)
I welcome the debate secured by my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan) on this important topic. The warm homes plan currently being rolled out by the Government is particularly welcome for those of us in Cornwall with poor energy-efficient homes. Can the Minister outline the steps that she is taking to accelerate the roll-out, so that as many households as possible, particularly those with vulnerable elderly people and young people—who have access to the worst-insulated homes—can feel the immediate benefits?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I will go on to outline the steps that we are taking, because we recognise that the plan is critical to dealing with the challenges across the country.
I want to emphasise why we got here; my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall made that point very well. Let us remember that Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine exposed our country to our egregious over-reliance on international gas markets. When prices rocketed, the British people suffered. That is why we have made our strategy to reduce reliance on gas a central plank of this Government, and we can do that in two ways.
First, we want to reduce reliance on gas within the electricity system. One of the Prime Minister’s key missions is to make Britain a clean energy superpower. We have taken immediate action by lifting the ban on onshore wind within our first 72 hours in government, setting up the new mission control at the heart of Government, and setting up Great British Energy—a publicly owned company that will invest in clean home-grown energy.
Secondly, we want to reduce our reliance on natural gas for directly heating our homes, which is why this debate is so important. Over 80% of UK homes currently use gas, which is one of the highest proportions in the world. Cleaner heating is therefore a huge part of Britain’s path to energy independence. The good news is that if we get this right—there is a lot we need to do to get it right—it is also a route for us to deliver cheaper energy for people’s homes.
Although other technologies such as heat batteries might have a role to play—I will say more about that technology specifically in a second—we already know that heat pumps can be an effective and affordable way of moving forward. We know that heat pumps are three times more efficient than traditional gas boilers, and because they run on electricity, people can achieve lower bills by integrating them with smart tariffs. To the point made by the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke), we understand that we need to do more work to make sure that it is cost-effective for people who make the choice to have clean heat. Thinking about the balance between gas prices and electricity prices is a key part of how we try to do that.
Heat pump uptake is increasing. Figures for the boiler upgrade scheme show that the number of applications and redemptions in October 2024 was the highest of any month since the scheme began. Critically for hon. Members who raised key questions about rural communities and homes that are off grid, we think that heat pumps are a viable option in rural communities. Actually, 54% of BUS grants went to homes in rural communities, so consumers agree with us.
We now need to make it as easy and viable as possible for people to go on this journey. That is why we are announcing and putting in place a raft of measures to help us to accelerate the pace of our warm homes plan. We have removed the outdated 1-metre rule, giving households more flexibility to install heat pumps. We are almost doubling the boiler upgrade scheme budget for next year to £295 million.
We are looking at further ways in which we can make the up-front cost of installing a heat pump much cheaper, drawing on some of the real innovation in the market, such as Kensa, which my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall mentioned. We are supporting the supply chain by introducing a reformed clean heat market mechanism on 1 April this year. We are investing more than £5 million in Ideal Heating as the first award from our heat pump investment accelerator competition, and we are doing the critical job of training installers through our heat training grant.
Let me come to heat batteries. We recognise that heat pumps will be the solution for many households and we need to make sure that they are as easy and affordable as possible for those households to install, but we also recognise that for some households they will not be the right solution. We also know that the landscape is changing massively, with innovation and new technology in train. That is why I can confirm that the Government are keeping several alternative electric heating technologies under close review as the supporting evidence develops. For us, this is about taking a technology-agnostic view on the market, pairing the most suitable technology with the home.
We recognise that heat batteries are a promising alternative electric heating technology. That is why we have launched the homes for net zero project, which is aiming to monitor the performance of up to 50 heat batteries in existing homes. We are expecting the results of that later this year. The key thing for us as we make the decision is whether it is a good deal for consumers. Is it efficient, is it cost-effective, and does it deliver the right outcomes—the outcomes that we need to see in people’s homes? As we build that evidence base and we build our confidence that it is the right proposition for consumers, we will look to review the policy framework, including subsidies, as we move forward.
Let me come to the warm homes plan. The Government are committed to being bold and ambitious to deliver the progress that we know is so badly needed on this agenda. When we were elected, we were clear that we needed to get straight back to work with the warm homes plan. In September, we announced plans that would lift more than 1 million households out of fuel poverty, by consulting on the minimum energy efficiency standards for all rented homes.
We also announced new schemes to help, in particular, low-income households—homeowners and private renters. This is through our warm homes local grant and our warm homes social housing fund, which closed for applications last November. We have confirmed £1 billion from the national wealth fund, Barclays UK corporate bank and Lloyds Banking Group to support housing associations to provide warmer, more energy-efficient homes.
In November, we went further. Alongside the policies that I have talked about, we confirmed initial funding for our warm homes plan, which means that next year up to 300,000 homes will benefit from upgrades, backed by £3.2 billion of investment. In December, we worked with housing colleagues to launch a major consultation on energy performance certificate reforms, which aims to deliver fundamental improvements so that the system better supports both consumers and our wider ambitions.
Let me conclude by saying that this Government understand the urgency of the situation, so we are moving at pace. That means that we are open-minded and collaborative. We are willing to work with anyone who will help us to drive the transition at the pace and scale that we need. I hope that my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall can see that that is absolutely at the heart of the approach that we are taking. I look forward to working with her, with industry colleagues and with other Members across the House to think about the innovation and the steps that we need to take to make progress on this agenda, so that in the end we do the thing that we were elected to do, which is to ensure that we are delivering on the energy promise that we committed—
Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 10(6)).
Oral Answers to Questions
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(2 months ago)
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David Pinto-Duschinsky (Hendon) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
We are getting on with delivering our warm homes plan. We are set to upgrade up to 300,000 homes next year. We are introducing new standards in the private rented sector and the social rented sector that will lift 1 million people out of fuel poverty, and we are making it easier for people to install heat pumps by removing planning restrictions, expanding our boiler upgrade scheme so that more people can get a discount and boosting the heat pump industry.
Amanda Hack
Modelling suggests that one in four residents in North West Leicestershire is in fuel poverty. Does the Minister understand the frustration many constituents will feel that, despite being in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, fuel poverty has become so commonplace? Will she write to me with an outline of the elements in the warm homes plan that will focus on delivery for those in fuel poverty?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I share the frustration of my hon. Friend’s constituents. The scale of fuel poverty in this country is a shameful legacy of the last Government’s 14 years of failure. It is a legacy that we are determined to turn around through our warm homes plan and our winter support package, and we will do everything we can to make sure that cold, draughty homes are a thing of the past.
David Pinto-Duschinsky
The last Government left us far too reliant on foreign dictators for our energy needs. I congratulate this Government on their focus on ending that dependence and making us energy independent. What steps is my hon. Friend taking to reduce bills for residents in my constituency and to further ensure that Britain remains genuinely energy independent?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
My hon. Friend is completely right. Too many people cannot afford their energy bills—[Interruption.] That is your legacy. That is why we are running to deliver clean energy by 2030 and rolling out our warm homes plan, so that we can upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run.
Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)
The Secretary of State, the Minister for Energy and the Minister for Consumers have all said in this House that the National Energy System Operator’s report shows that the Government’s 2030 target will lower energy bills. However, the report itself explicitly says that it does not do so, and the chief executive officer of the NESO told the Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee last week that it “did not set out” to determine “what bills are for consumers.” Will the Minister explain those inconsistencies and take the opportunity to correct the record?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I suggest that the hon. Lady actually reads the report. On page 77, the NESO sets out in black and white the system costs of a clean power system, and then what it calls
“Bill components resulting from clean power pathways”
and “Other bill changes”. The total impact in 2030 is to reduce electricity costs by £10 per megawatt-hour. Of course, as the NESO says, it is for the Government to make the policy choices to reduce energy bills—which we will—but it is absolutely clear that our clean power plan will reduce system costs.
Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
Citizens Advice has found that more than a third of private tenants could not afford to heat their house to a comfortable temperature last winter, and in research published a month ago, it found that 80% of private landlords have no plans to invest in the energy efficiency of their properties in the next five years. Can the Minister explain what the Government will do to support and incentivise private landlords to drive up minimum energy efficiency standards in their properties, and when they will do it, so that tenants can stay warm all year round?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We know that the quality of too many of our homes in the private rented sector is not high enough. That is why we are moving forward to introduce minimum energy efficiency standards, so that we can raise those standards, lifting 1 million people out of fuel poverty. We are running in order to get that done.
Pippa Heylings (South Cambridgeshire) (LD)
After the Conservative Government’s failure to tackle insulation, fuel poverty is on the rise. In my constituency, almost 20% of households with young family members—those between five and 10 years—are fuel poor, living in cold, damp houses and choosing between eating and heating. While we await the warm homes plan that will deal with upgrading current housing stock, will the Minister meet the Minister for Housing and Planning to ensure that all future homes will come forward with an energy rating that is a minimum of C or higher, but not beyond 2025 for the future homes standard?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We are working very closely with Housing, Communities and Local Government Ministers to deal with the future homes standard. We recognise that the fact we are building homes that are not up to the standard is a problem, and we are getting on with fixing it.
Mr Alex Barros-Curtis (Cardiff West) (Lab)
Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
We are rolling out our warm homes plan, which we want every household to benefit from, and we will ensure that we have the right solution for the right homes. I will work with my hon. Friend and with Members from across the House on solutions that every household can benefit from, to ensure that we have warmer homes that are cheaper to run.
Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)
Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)
More than 24,000 homes in my constituency have an energy performance certificate banding of D or worse, which means 50,000 tonnes of avoidable carbon dioxide emissions and higher energy bills for my constituents. However, the rate of insulation upgrades is too slow for us to meet the Government’s goal of universal band C ratings by 2035. Will the Minister commit herself with more urgency to an emergency home insulation programme with targeted support for those on low incomes?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
We recognise that not enough was done to upgrade homes over the last 15 years, which is why we are absolutely running at this. We will upgrade up to 300,000 homes this year, and we are putting in place our plan to drive up standards in the private rented sector, and to ensure that as many households as possible benefit from homes that are warmer and much, much cheaper to run.
Amanda Hack (North West Leicestershire) (Lab)
Richard Fuller (North Bedfordshire) (Con)
This weekend, 50 households in Cleat Hill were able to return home, nine weeks after the gas explosion there. That was thanks to the efforts of the local council and the local emergency services but not, I am afraid, to the actions of the Government. There has been a deafening silence on whether they will help the council with funding, and whether they will fund a scaling and scoping of the gas reservoir. I am extremely grateful to the Minister for meeting me, but will she chivvy her other Ministers along, so that we can get a reply?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I thank the hon. Member for that meeting. We are working across Government to ensure that we can provide the support that the community requires after that tragic incident.
Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)
I recently visited the zero-emission boiler manufacturer Tepeo in Wokingham. Its owners were thrilled by the Government’s decision that heat batteries can qualify for the warm homes social housing fund wave 3, but expressed concern about whether they could scale up without the same subsidy support and VAT relief as heat pumps. Will the Minister meet me, and representatives of Thermal Storage UK, to discuss how we can support heat batteries, so that households can become more resilient?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
My hon. Friend is a great champion of our clean power mission, and I would be very happy to meet him and representatives of the sector.
Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)
Seventy-five per cent of voters think that all new homes should come with solar panels on the roof as standard. Do the Government agree?
Spray Foam Insulation: Property Value
Miatta Fahnbulleh Excerpts(2 months, 2 weeks ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
Let me start by thanking the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon) for bringing this important issue to the attention of the House and highlighting the stories of his constituents.
This Government are committed to ensuring that all energy efficiency installations are done to the highest standards, and that proper consumer protection and redress are built into the system. That matters because building and maintaining consumer confidence and trust are critical to our delivering our warm homes plan and upgrading millions of homes across the country. We will do everything that we can to ensure that the system works for consumers. This is therefore a very important and a timely debate.
We understand the frustration and the difficulties that some homeowners with spray foam loft insulation have experienced when obtaining finance. This problem followed the publication of now-withdrawn guidance from a surveyors association in December 2021. The guidance said that surveyors could not comment on the condition of timber roof structures, or properly assess the risks once installed, given the nature of the product.
In response to the problems that some homeowners were having when obtaining finance, under the previous Government, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government worked with industry to publish several documents in 2023. These included a consumer guide, a code of practice for installers and an inspection protocol, alongside training for surveyors.
The Building Safety Regulator also completed research to understand moisture risk factors, which indicated that the risk is low if the relevant British standards are followed. Crucially, the inspection protocol now enables a surveyor to determine whether an installation was done properly and, therefore, to determine the risk level. This means decisions on mortgage products should be made on a case-by-case basis, and there should not be a blanket exclusion on mortgages.
I understand that progress is being made and, while some lenders will want to follow the advice of surveyors, most no longer have a blanket policy against lending where there is spray foam insulation. We are aware that just over 6,000 pitched roof insulation measures were installed using a voucher from the previous Government’s green homes grant voucher scheme, and some of these installations may have used spray foam products.
If products have been installed to the standard required under the scheme, we do not expect them to be removed. We expect that they are doing the work and are effective in the home. A surveyor should be able to use the available inspection protocol to make the proper assessment. Where the measure has not been installed correctly, however, homeowners should contact their installer or use the TrustMark dispute resolution process to seek redress. If the installer is no longer trading, the homeowner should contact the guarantee provider. The details of this should be in the paperwork they were given at the point of installation, or they will be available from TrustMark.
Although the system is working, we know that it is not working in too many cases and that people are falling between the cracks. We know that the standards and accreditation processes for Government schemes are too complex, and that accountability structures are not always clear. I am new to my role, but I am the first to admit that there is a job to do to improve the system so that, when problems occur, consumers get the right advice and redress without having to bang their head against the wall to get it. The Government are determined to address this.
The Government’s ambitious warm home plans will upgrade millions of homes across the country to make them warmer and cheaper to run, from installing new insulation to rolling out solar panels and heat pumps. We will review the consumer protection framework as part of this plan, ensuring clear lines of accountability and clear and easy redress mechanisms so that consumers can trust the system.
The plan will also outline the further action we intend to take to drive up quality and standards, and to support the supply chain to grow in size and competence. This will include investing in training and supporting trusted small businesses that work in the community to join the supply chain.
We understand that the hon. Gentleman’s constituents, and constituents across the country, face this issue, and we are looking into it to understand the size of the problem and what we can do in response. More fundamentally, people should be in no doubt that we are committed to building consumer protection and trust, because that is the only way we can take the country on the journey as we try to upgrade millions of homes.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the profile of this issue, for raising the stories of his constituents and the difficulties they have faced, and for giving us the opportunity to highlight the avenues that are available for affected consumers.
Question put and agreed to.