Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of skills to (a) maintain and (b) retrofit homes and other buildings to (i) allow them to retain more heat and (ii) make them more sustainable.

The Each Home Counts review recommended the introduction of an overarching standards framework for end-to-end delivery of retrofit, as well as the establishment of a Government-endorsed quality mark to ensure consumer protection and redress. This is why the Government requires that installations under Government retrofit schemes are carried out in accordance with Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) 2035, by a PAS 2030 and TrustMark registered installer.

PAS 2030 certification requires installers to be assessed against competency requirements by an accredited Certification Body. This includes undertaking relevant training to demonstrate competency, for example an NVQ Level 3 in insulation and building treatments for installers.