Recommendations & Conclusions
39 items
1
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
The scale of the challenge to retrofit existing homes to tackle the climate crisis is enormous. Energy efficiency is a precursor to the transition to low carbon heat, so action must be taken in the 2020s to set homes on a decarbonisation trajectory to meet our net zero targets. The …
Government response. The Government remains committed to the aspiration set out in the Clean Growth Strategy, that as many homes as possible are improved to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C by 2035, where practical, affordable and cost effective. We believe this …
2
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
There is a wide variation in the costs for bringing all homes in the UK up to an EPC grade C. We have heard of costs averaging £18,000 to retrofit a property, before addition of a heat pump. Given that there are around 19 million properties in the UK in …
Government response. The Government’s estimate of between £35–£65bn is focussed solely on our aspiration for as many homes as possible to reach EPC C, where practical, affordable and cost effective. Although it is possible to spend more than this to install energy …
3
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We recommend that the Government review the feasibility of its aspiration to achieve a minimum of EPC band C by 2035, given current progress on improving energy efficiency. As well as setting out how it plans to meet existing targets, it should set out a strategy to increase ambition in …
Government response. As outlined above, the Government remains committed to the ambition set out in the Clean Growth Strategy, that as many homes as possible are improved to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C by 2035, where practical, cost-effective, and affordable. We …
4
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We recommend that BEIS review its cost projections on energy efficiency and includes the cost of low carbon heating. The Department should consult the building and retrofit sector to ensure that its top-down modelling reflects real-world costs. It should also set out the proportion of efficiency improvements it expects to …
Government response. The cost assumptions used in BEIS are obtained from a range of sources and are always under review. The way these are combined into cost projections depends on the context of the policy/scenario being analysed, including the cost of low …
5
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
While the energy efficiency of two million homes has been successfully upgraded under the ECO, the number of measures installed has reduced significantly in recent years and the Government’s fuel poverty targets are not expected to be met. The inability to use ECO with other sources of funding is hampering …
Government response. The Government recognises that households on the lowest incomes are unable to fund the installation of energy efficiency measures and keep their homes warm and comfortable. ECO3 focusses support completely on low income and vulnerable households. Since ECO began, around …
6
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We support the extension of ECO to 2026 and the extra funding announced in the Fuel Poverty Strategy. The Government must review whether ECO is still delivering Energy Efficiency of Existing Homes 57 value for money and whether the energy bill is the most appropriate, fair and effective means of …
Government response. Over more than 25 years, supplier obligations have proven to successfully deliver energy efficiency upgrades to homes across Great Britain. They have often been complementary to direct Government funding and provided long-term certainty, often across Spending Review periods. Whilst ECO …
7
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We recommend the Government reviews the way ECO is funded, in common with the other policy costs that are added to consumer electricity bills rather than gas. Disproportionate use of this regressive funding mechanism is hampering the adoption of low carbon heating options such as heat pumps. We recommend that …
Government response. The Government is keen to ensure that households and businesses are aware that all energy users are fairly sharing in the benefits and costs of the UK’s transition to Net Zero. on this between Government, consumers and industry by publishing …
8
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We welcome the clarification provided in the Energy White Paper that Home Upgrade Grants will focus on the worst-quality off-gas grid homes with low income households in England. We consider that this focus is the right one. Using the indicative costs for improving energy efficiency and heat pump installation and …
Government response. The Home Upgrade Grant scheme aims to upgrade the worst performing off gas grid homes (EPC D- G) that are inhabited by low-income households, providing both energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating. According to the latest fuel poverty statistics …
9
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We recommend that Home Upgrade Grants are launched in full before the end of 2021, backed by the entirety of the funding pledged for the scheme, to mobilise supply chains for low carbon heating. The Government should also set out how it intends to administer the scheme and what role …
Government response. The recent ‘Sustainable warmth: protecting vulnerable households in England’ strategy committed £150m to the Home Upgrade Grant for upgrading low-income homes with energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating. This £150m allocation is part of the £1bn settlement for buildings …
10
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We welcome the Government’s introduction of a scheme for owner occupiers to fund energy efficiency improvements. Such a scheme is essential in order to achieve the ambition to reach energy efficient homes by 2030, given this is by far the largest pool of housing stock across the UK. But the …
Government response. 8 Energy efficiency of existing homes: Government Response The Green Homes Grant voucher scheme, while recognised by many stakeholders as an important initiative, has not been delivering at the rate and scale we had originally hoped. With over 52,000 vouchers …
11
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
It is commendable that the Government has been keen to avoid fraud in administration of the scheme by only allowing Trustmark and PAS registered companies to participate. But the anti-fraud precautions have been so complex that vouchers are simply not being issued. Consumers are frustrated by delays in delivery, and …
Government response. protection is in energy efficiency schemes. The Green Homes Grant voucher scheme was therefore designed with the highest standards of quality and consumer protection at its core. Using a quality mark to ensure a high minimum standard of consumer protection …
12
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We recommend that the Green Homes Grant scheme be urgently overhauled and extended to provide a genuine long-term stimulus to the domestic energy efficiency sector. The scheme should not be scrapped or quietly wound down. The Government must address the design and administration issues with the scheme, and all allocated …
Government response. As set out in our answer to recommendation 10, while we recognise the reasons why the Committee recommended the scheme should be extended, the decision before us was whether to continue with the scheme despite significant challenges or, redirect taxpayer …
13
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
Sustained delivery of measures to support the transition to a 68 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, and net zero by 2050, will require strategic planning and thorough engagement with all stakeholders. The Government’s strategic ambitions here require multi-annual spending commitments which may need to supersede Spending Review perspectives. …
Government response. In June 2019 the UK became the first major economy to legislate to end our net contribution to climate change by 2050. The government also accepted the Committee for Climate Change’s recommendation that the Treasury should undertake a review into …
14
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We recommend that BEIS and the Treasury undertake a joint review of the preparation, launch, funding and delivery of the Green Homes Grant programme, and that the recommendations of that review be applied to all cross-Government working on programmes to deliver net zero objectives.
Government response. Of the four ambitious new policy schemes announced by the Chancellor for building retrofit at last year’s Summer Economic Statement, three are performing well, and on track to deliver over £1.5 billion of investment and support 50,000 jobs. The National …
15
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We welcome the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery scheme, and, in particular, the fact that it can be used to deliver improvements across all tenures. We consider that it has real potential to help build local authority capacity and energy efficiency supply chains by supporting area based approaches.
Government response. Local Authorities and Local Energy HUBs have a comprehensive understanding of their local community, and will be able to identify low-income households eligible for energy efficiency upgrades, including through consumer referral routes from the health and charity sector. We are …
16
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We recommend that, following an evaluation of Phase Two, the scheme is expanded with a larger budget, over a multi-year period, and a greater role for BEIS’s local energy hubs to supplement local authority capacity.
Government response. We have now allocated £300 million to the 5 Local Energy Hubs, who will work with the local authorities in their region to deliver energy efficiency upgrades to around 30,000 homes across England by December 2021. 12 Energy efficiency of …
17
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We welcome the Social Housing Decarbonisation fund and support its aims to retrofit social housing at scale. However, to date only a fraction of the funding has been made available for demonstrator projects that may well not deliver the efficiencies that larger schemes could achieve.
Government response. Last year’s Summer Economic Update announced the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Demonstrator project, which was launched in 2020 and has awarded £62m of funding to social landlords across England and Scotland. 19 projects received a share of the funding, …
18
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
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 …
Government response. The Autumn 2020 Spending Review committed £60m of funding for the first wave of the £3.8bn manifesto commitment in financial year 21/22. The Government recently announced an extra £300 million of funding to be invested to cut greenhouse gas emissions …
19
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
The proposed extension to the Warm Home Discount provides no apparent incentive to poor or vulnerable customers to invest in improving the energy efficiency of their homes. Energy efficiency is the most sustainable long-term solution to fuel poverty. The money earmarked for additional years of the scheme could be better …
Government response. In the Energy White Paper, Government set out its goal to ensure that energy bills are affordable and that households in fuel poverty are not left behind in the transition to a net- zero future. We agree that energy efficiency …
20
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
Stop-start Government policies and intermittent funding streams have resulted in a dearth of installers of energy efficiency measures. A lack of accredited tradespeople has hampered the initial delivery of the Green Homes Grant, and there is a significant risk that the Government will not meet its heat pump installation targets …
Government response. the industry and other stakeholders. Any decisions about future funding are a matter for the spending review. We agree with the Committee on the need to provide as much long-term certainty as possible to industry and households and the soon …
21
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
Whilst we welcome the launch of the Green Jobs Taskforce and the Green Homes Grant Skills Training Competition, the Government must create a visible, long- term market that makes energy efficiency and heat pump installation a stable and desirable profession. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, working with …
Government response. zero target. This is part of our wider work to invest in the UK’s most important asset—our workforce—to ensure that people have the right skills to deliver the low-carbon transition and thrive in the high- value jobs this will create. …
22
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We recommend that as part of the forthcoming Heat and Buildings strategy a national retrofit strategy is developed with colleges and other education providers to provide the training and re-training needed to prepare our homes for a low-carbon future. The strategy must address the much-needed increase in certified heat pump …
Government response. The Department is continuing its work with the Green Jobs Taskforce to produce an Action Plan for Net Zero skills across a range of sectors with the goal of 2 million net zero jobs by 2030. As part of this, …
23
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We support the introduction of minimum energy performance standards across all tenures. Without these minimum standards, it is unlikely the Government’s overall ambitions on retrofitting energy efficiency will be achieved.
Government response. We welcome the Committee’s support for a minimum energy performance standards across all tenures, and believe this is a key enabler of action as set out in our earlier responses. To this end, we have: • Consulted on strengthening the …
24
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We recommend that the social rented sector should be subject to the same standards as the private rented sector.
Government response. In December 2020, government published the Social Housing White Paper where it committed to review the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) to consider how it can better support the decarbonisation and energy efficiency of social homes. Part 1 of the review …
25
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
In its forthcoming Heat and Buildings Strategy, the Government, acting on the advice of the Climate Change Committee, should set an ambitious and realistic trajectory for owner occupiers to achieve minimum EPC C standards. The CCC recommends that by 2028 all properties achieve EPC level C at the point of …
Government response. Energy efficiency of existing homes: Government Response 17 The Government recognises more needs to be done to improve the energy performance of owner- occupied homes and we remain committed to the aspiration for as many homes as possible to be …
26
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
Green finance options are essential to encourage owner occupiers to take action on energy efficiency. We welcome the ambition of some leading lenders to make green mortgages available, and the Government consultation on how mortgage lenders can help householders to improve the energy performance of their homes.
Government response. We agree with the Committee that green finance will play a critical role in helping householders to improve the energy performance of their homes. We estimate that getting as many homes as possible to EPC band C by 2035, where …
27
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
Alongside an extension of the Green Homes Grant, other financial incentives, such as low interest loans, will need to be made available to owner occupiers and landlords to achieve the thorough retrofit of domestic housing stock the Government envisages. The Green Finance Institute has identified 21 possible products. It is …
Government response. We agree with the Committee that a range of financial products will be essential to support owner occupiers and landlords to improve the energy performance of their homes. We have seen good progress over the last 12 months with a …
28
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
Despite the need to make progress in improving energy efficiency of 19 million homes to achieve net zero Britain objectives, no mention was made in the Budget statement on 3rd March by the Chancellor of energy efficiency, nor any steps taken to improve delivery of the Green Homes Grant, his …
Government response. It is a matter of public record that the Department has raised concerns with the scheme administrator, ICF, on performance, and has been working with them to resolve their issues. With this work ongoing it was not appropriate to comment …
29
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We recommend that the Chancellor of the Exchequer look again at proposals to reduce to five per cent the rate of VAT on the labour element of refurbishment and renovations. The Government should also bring forward proposals to reinstate the reduced rate of VAT payable on Energy Saving Materials at …
Government response. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. While there are exceptions to the standard rate, these have always been limited by both legal and fiscal considerations. One …
30
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We support and reiterate the Green Finance Taskforce recommendation that the Government should pilot a stamp duty rebate for homeowners that improve the efficiency of their homes within the first year of purchase. We recommend that the Government work with the financial sector and major landlords, including local authorities and …
Government response. of homes as we move through the 2020s, and we agree that action is needed to support lenders and the wider finance market to innovate and expand the range of green finance offering available to homeowners. In addition to our …
31
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
The Government should work with the financial services sector to devise and implement a communications strategy to raise awareness about, and to encourage the uptake of, appropriate types of financing measures already on the market being offered, such as green mortgages. (Paragraph 134) Energy Efficiency of Existing Homes 61
Government response. We agree with the Committee that consumer awareness is a vital component in delivering retrofit at scale. We have been engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including many organisations from the financial services sector, on ways to improve consumer …
32
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
Energy Performance Certificates have a range of flaws, with their inability to reflect real-world energy performance being the biggest challenge. Desk-based assessments with out-of-date software are doing nothing to improve the market value of decarbonised homes and do not accurately reflect the progress the country is making in improving the …
Government response. We agree with the Committee on the importance of ensuring Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) align to our policy objectives, and legally binding targets, to achieve
33
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We recommend the EPC methodology is fundamentally overhauled to support low carbon heating measures by indicating, in its headline rating not only the fuel cost of heating a property but also its energy and carbon metrics. The measures in the Government’s EPC action plan are not enough to achieve what …
Government response. We agree with the Committee on the importance of ensuring Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) align to our policy objectives, and legally binding targets, to achieve
34
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
Building renovation passports have the potential to provide much more accurate data on energy usage and could be used to unlock green finance. They provide homeowners with long-term renovation strategies which can minimise disruption to their properties and thereby encourage more extensive retrofitting of energy efficiency measures.
Government response. Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are critical to our policy proposals and we are committed to improving them as set out in our EPC action plan. However, we are open to considering how data from EPCs could input into Building Renovation …
35
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We recommend the Government develop an approved, standardised methodology and data framework for Building Renovation Passports and supports their roll-out, with a view to the eventual replacement of Energy Performance Certificates.
Government response. Energy efficiency of existing homes: Government Response 23 We recognise that the carbon emitted during by the construction of homes and buildings, or embodied carbon, can account for a significant proportion of the total carbon emissions over the lifetime of …
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Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We have heard of the benefits of a bespoke advice service on energy efficient retrofitting. We consider that such a service will be essential in order to achieve the pace of change needed to meet the net zero target.
Government response. and respond to national priorities. On 15 December 2020 the Cabinet Office published a Green Paper consultation on Transforming Public Procurement ahead of bringing forward primary legislation in the summer. The Green Paper includes a number of proposals to enable …
37
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We recommend the Government’s present basic energy advice service available in England is upgraded to a specialist bespoke advice service similar to the Home Energy Scotland network. This should include measures to identify the most appropriate financing programme for each consumer.
Government response. User engagement with the Government’s Simple Energy Advice (SEA), continues to grow on a yearly basis as the public seek impartial and bespoke advice on how to improve the energy performance of their homes, including on national and local grants …
38
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
Sustainable building materials are not being utilised to anywhere like their full potential in the UK. The use of natural fibre insulation could have significant benefits for the UK’s older housing stock.
Government response. We recognise that the carbon emitted during by the construction of homes and buildings, or embodied carbon, can account for a significant proportion of the total carbon emissions over the lifetime of a building. As we transition to a net …
39
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Ex…
We recommend that within its Heat and Buildings Strategy, the Government consider stipulating the use of sustainable materials in public sector energy efficiency contracts as a first incentive to drive the UK’s domestic supply chain of these materials. (Paragraph 159) 62 Energy Efficiency of Existing Homes
Government response. Government is in the process of reforming public procurement policy to reflect our values and respond to national priorities. On 15 December 2020 the Cabinet Office published a Green Paper consultation on Transforming Public Procurement ahead of bringing forward primary …