Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund on people who live in rural areas and rely on oil fired central heating.

The Government wants to encourage all householders to invest in energy efficiency, whether rural or urban. The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund is designed to incentivise householders in England and Wales to install a wide range of energy efficiency measures, such as insulation and better glazing. Many rural properties have solid walls, making them well placed to take maximum advantage of the scheme - such households could be eligible to receive up to £6000 for installing solid wall insulation, or up to £7000 for installing solid wall insulation and two other eligible measures.

However DECC does consider it appropriate to exclude oil and LPG fired boilers from the GDHIF scheme. The Government fully recognises that LPG and oil, like other fossil fuels, will continue to play a part in the UK's energy mix, but we must begin to revolutionise the way we heat our homes to make the transition to a low carbon economy. To this end, DECC has introduced the domestic renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme to support renewable heating systems; this support aims to compensate householders for the additional costs they face when installing a renewable heating system compared to an oil heating system. The domestic RHI is targeted at, but not limited to, homes off the gas grid. Incentivising oil and LPG boilers in this context would undermine the balance struck in the design of the RHI, and potentially cause confusion for consumers. For low income and vulnerable customers, support is available through the Affordable Warmth element of the Energy Company Obligation. Through this, energy suppliers deliver heating cost reductions in eligible off gas and on gas grid households through the provision of any measures which will reduce costs. We have proposed changes to ECO which will actively incentivise suppliers to deliver measures to non-gas fuelled households.