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Government housing decarbonisation schemes slow and poorly designed, MPs say
Government policy aimed at decarbonising homes has been “poorly designed” and beset by delays that jeopardise the UK’s ability to reach net zero by 2050, cross-party MPs have warned.
In a new report, the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) said that the government’s legally binding commitment to reach net zero by 2050 will be missed “unless urgent action is taken to improve energy efficiency of homes this decade”.
The committee noted green programmes such as the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and the Green Homes Grant, which it said were poorly designed schemes that are “failing to make a big impact”.
Of £3.8bn promised for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, only £50m has been used so far on demonstrator projects.
The EAC said: “The government should bring forward the allocation of the £3.8bn of funding pledged before the 2019 general election.
“This would deliver cost savings at scale. This funding should be frontloaded to reap the benefits of cumulative emissions savings towards net zero.
“The government should also allow housing associations to lead bids, so as to ensure that the available funding is used quickly and effectively.”
On the Green Homes Grant (GHG), launched in September 2020, MPs said the scheme has been “laden with lengthy bureaucracy, which bizarrely has led to reports of businesses laying off staff to cover loss of income rather than creating green jobs as heralded”.
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Government figures published in December 2020 showed that 60,000 GHG vouchers had been applied for but only 11,645 had been issued.
This delay has caused problems for firms that hired officers to carry out decarbonisation work but are yet to receive vouchers.
“We have since heard evidence from the industry that small companies are having orders cancelled and having to lay off staff,” MPs said.
The report also suggested that government estimates for decarbonising UK homes of £35bn to £65bn were too low because the projections did not include properties such as those with solid walls, or conservation areas that could make energy efficiency installations more challenging.
The committee said it is concerned that the government has announced just £4bn of the £9.2bn committed in its 2019 manifesto for energy efficiency measures.
Philip Dunne, chair of the EAC, said: “Government investment to improve energy efficiency has been woefully inadequate.
“The £9bn that the government pledged at the election was welcome, but 16 months on, there appears to be no plan nor meaningful delivery.
“Funding allocated for the Green Homes Grant has not been spent, with only £125m worth of vouchers – of the £1.5bn budget – issued.
“Further schemes that endure must be rolled out, boosting the government’s credibility with householders and their contractors that it is determined to decarbonise the nation’s homes.
“This will give confidence to businesses that they can invest in upskilling and green jobs.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “The UK has a strong track record in improving the energy performance of its homes, with 40% now above Energy Performance Certificate band C, up from just 9% in 2008.
“However, we are committed to going further and faster, and are investing £9bn in improving the energy efficiency of our buildings, while creating hundreds of thousands of skilled green jobs.
“This includes funding for the first hydrogen-powered houses and allocating more than £500m this year alone to improve the energy efficiency of 50,000 households in social and local authority housing across the UK, as we work to eliminate our contribution to climate change by 2050.”
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