Select committee: Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 30
Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Existing Homes
Published 22 Mar 2021
Paragraph 133
Environmental Audit Committee Energy Efficiency of Existing Homes All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
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 other social landlords, to stimulate renovation through the introduction of green mortgages, green finance and low cost loans. These instruments would help to address the barriers to energy efficient renovation and retrofit in the form of high upfront costs of energy efficiency measures. The Government should consider how the national infrastructure bank could be used as a vehicle to finance energy efficiency given the scale of success achieved in Germany through its state funded low interest loan scheme.
From: Environmental Audit Committee, Fourth Report - Energy Efficiency of Existing Homes (HC 346), paragraph 133, 22 March 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 13 May 2021 (deadline 22 May 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government sets out a broad programme on home energy efficiency, agrees with parts of the Committee's analysis, but did not extend the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme.
- On the voucher scheme, the government did not adopt the recommendation to extend it: it judged it "more beneficial overall to close the voucher portion" and to "reform and expand" the Local Authority Delivery element, citing the need to protect the taxpayer.
- It holds to its aspiration for "as many homes as possible" to reach EPC band C by 2035, "where practical, cost-effective and affordable", and plans to publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy "shortly".
- It says it will consult in 2021 on regulatory options to improve the energy performance of owner-occupied homes.
- On Stamp Duty rebates for energy efficient homes, the government says trials "are not under active consideration at this time"; it also does not propose lower VAT rates, citing pressure on public finances.