Energy Efficiency in
Homes
(Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)
What plans his Department has to help improve energy efficiency
in homes.
(Wolverhampton South West) (Con)
What long-term plans he has to help make homes more
energy-efficient.
The Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth ()
The Government are committed to getting as many homes as possible
to EPC band C by 2035, where cost-effective, practical and
affordable. We are doing this through setting long-term minimum
standards, providing financial support where it is needed most,
and getting the market conditions right to support action.
[V]
The green homes grant is a scheme that can improve home
insulation, cut carbon, save on energy bills and create jobs
across the country. It needs backing, not scrapping, so what
plans does the Minister have to extend and improve the green
homes grant, and how does she see the scheme helping to improve
the efficiency of older, often rural, homes, especially those
with solid walls, which use more energy and cost more to heat?
We absolutely recognise that older rural properties may be more
challenging to improve. That is why we provide an incentive for
off-gas homes under the current energy company obligation, and we
will focus the future home upgrade grant on poorer-performing
homes. We also have a range of exemptions under our minimum
standard regulations for homes that are too expensive or
difficult to improve. This is a really important aspect of our
net zero challenges, and I look forward to working with my hon.
Friend in the months ahead.
The situation regarding covid-19 has had a big impact on the
household incomes of residents in Wolverhampton. What long-term
plans does my right hon. Friend have to help elderly and
working-age residents to save money on utility bills and give
them access to affordable energy efficiency schemes?
The Government have invested £500 million in the local authority
delivery scheme to improve the energy efficiency of low-income
households, helping to reduce fuel poverty for around 50,000
households by the end of this year. My hon. Friend is a champion
for his constituents in Wolverhampton, and I look forward to
working with him as we work with those communities and households
to meet our net zero challenge through home efficiency
improvements.
(Southampton, Test) (Lab)
The Government’s flagship programme to improve energy efficiency
in homes, the green homes grant scheme, has produced figures for
the latest month: vouchers applied for—18,526: vouchers
issued—1,186; measures installed—99; and, I am not making this
up, measures paid for—20. Does the Minister take responsibility
for this catastrophic failure of a scheme? Will she say now
whether she intends to extend the programme and roll the funding
over so that it has a chance to succeed in the end? If she does,
will she be sacking the US-based private consultancy firm she
hired to run this awful mess?
May I, too, associate myself with your words earlier, Mr Speaker?
I think we have all, sadly, been touched by the loss of someone,
or more than one person, whom we have known to this dreadful
disease in the past year. Thank you for your words, because it is
so important that we are able to hold this moment together.
The green homes grant voucher scheme has made significant strides
since its launch in September 2020. We have received more than
90,000 applications and issued 33,000 vouchers, worth £142
million, and an additional £500 million has been given to local
authorities to improve the energy efficiency of low-income
households, helping to reduce fuel poverty for about 50,000
households by the end of this year. This is such an important
part of the just transition that we want to ensure that we
achieve with net zero. We recognise that the scheme has faced a
number of delivery challenges, as many new mechanisms do, which
has meant it has not delivered at the rate or the scale that we
had originally hoped it would. However, we are working with the
scheme administrator to process the backlog of voucher
applications, streamlining the voucher issuance and redemption
process as a top priority. Some delays in voucher processing are
due to our robust fraud and gaming checks, which we have
implemented by learning from previous schemes.
(Ludlow) (Con) [V]
May I associate myself, and all those participating in
proceedings remotely, with the moment of national reflection that
you have just led, Mr Speaker? Thank you. Yesterday, my right
hon. Friend will have seen the report published by the
Environmental Audit Committee on the energy efficiency of
existing homes, in which we highlighted the scale of the
challenge in decarbonising the 19 million homes in this country
that account for most of the 20% of UK emissions from domestic
buildings. Will the Government commit in the heat and building
strategy to a clear timetable to encourage owners of all tenures
of homes to install affordable energy upgrades, in order to meet
our net zero Britain targets?
My right hon. Friend is right that the challenge of making all
our homes energy-efficient and moving to net zero is enormous. I
thank him for his leadership, as Chair of the Environmental Audit
Committee, in looking in depth at some of the vital issues, to
help us not only to solve the technical and financial challenges
but to encourage our constituents to make changes to reduce their
power and heat usage through efficiency.
We have a strong track record in improving the energy performance
of our homes over the past decade, with 40% above energy
performance certificate band C—up from only 9% in 2008. We are
also funding the first hydrogen-powered homes in Gateshead and
allocating more than £500 million this year alone to improve the
energy efficiency of 50,000 households in social and local
authority housing throughout the UK.
