Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help increase the number of people that are accredited to retrofit residential housing stock.

To build retrofit workforce capacity, the government has invested nearly £29m since 2021 to deliver around 34,000 retrofit training opportunities. This includes an £8.85m Home Decarbonisation Skills Training Competition to deliver 8,000 insulation installation and retrofit professional qualifications, and a £5m Heat Training Grant to support 10,000 training opportunities relevant to heat pumps and heat networks up to 2025. The government launched a new Low Carbon Heating Technician apprenticeship in Autumn 2023 and is working with industry to develop occupational standards for insulation and building treatments to create new apprenticeships and T Levels for retrofit work.