Select committee: Energy Security and Net Zero Committee
Recommendation 10
1st Report - Retrofitting homes for net zero
Published 22 May 2025
Addressed to Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Energy Security and Net Zero Committee Retrofitting homes for net zero All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
This report highlights the high and stagnating levels of energy poverty in the UK and the current disincentive that Energy Performance Certificates have on low carbon heating options due to price concerns. We therefore recommend that the Government reforms the Energy Performance Certificate metric with a renewed focus on both emissions and energy costs. This should be used to recommend home improvements to households who should then be signposted to independent advice following an assessment. (Recommendation, Paragraph 64) 61 Decarbonising home heating
From: Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, 1st Report - Retrofitting homes for net zero (HC 453), 22 May 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 18 August 2025 (deadline 22 July 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response sets out much of its position through the forthcoming Warm Homes Plan, recognising several of the Committee's concerns while giving a longer timeline on gas network work and expressing scepticism on one funding proposal.
- On long-term retrofit support, the government states that £13.2 billion "has been committed" to the Warm Homes Plan over 2025/26 to 2029/30, with allocations for individual programmes to be set out "by October this year".
- On Energy Performance Certificates, the government is reforming them and "expects" changes to the metrics to be introduced in 2026; it will publish its consultation response "in due course".
- On repurposing the gas network, the department "anticipates a longer timeline to be needed than the Committee's recommendation" and will publish a Call for Evidence in 2026.
- On the Heat Training Grant, the government says it is "sceptical about plans to compensate installers for lost earnings", citing the complexity of avoiding "risks of fraud".