Recommendations & Conclusions
11 items
11
Recommendation
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Deferred
DESNZ plans to work on rebalancing the costs of electricity and gas, but it said that doing so is difficult because of large structural issues in the sector. It had aimed to rebalance costs to some extent by moving levies from electricity to gas bills, but its plans to do …
Government response. The government agrees with the recommendation to rebalance electricity and gas costs but defers the implementation date, stating it is dependent on further ministerial steers. It confirms it is considering ways to lower running costs for low-carbon technologies and highlights …
HM Treasury
12
Recommendation
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Deferred
Households can face a range of decisions when looking to install a heat pump. One such decision is whether to improve insulation to reduce energy usage and emissions. At the time of our evidence session, households were required to meet recommendations relating to cavity wall and loft insultation, identified in …
Government response. The government agrees with the implied recommendation to simplify the heat pump installation process but defers the implementation date, stating it is subject to ministerial steers. It references existing consumer advice tools and commits to further improving the heat pump …
HM Treasury
13
Recommendation
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Deferred
We asked DESNZ why it had decided to change the minimum insulation standards required for heat pumps, and what impact it expected this decision to have. DESNZ told us that government had decided to leave insulation improvements as a choice for householders. It explained that it was still recommending that …
Government response. The government agrees with the implied recommendation to address consumer experience challenges for heat pumps but defers a comprehensive approach, stating the implementation date is subject to ministerial steers. It highlights existing advice tools and a phoneline service and plans …
HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Deferred
We noted that the installation of heat pumps could be a very complicated picture for consumers, and asked how an individual was expected to understand the running costs of a heat pump and the potential impact of installing insulation before or after a heat pump, or for their type of …
Government response. The government agrees but defers the implementation date pending new ministerial steers. It highlights ongoing activities to simplify switching to low carbon heating for consumers and will detail further improvements in the Warm Homes Plan.
HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Deferred
DESNZ clarified that it was “working on making the Government digital offering in this space much better”. It added that it signposted to digital companies that helped households to calculate running costs and lifetime costs via gov.uk. It recognised, however, that there was a role for it to do more. …
Government response. The government agrees but defers the implementation date pending new ministerial steers. It outlines ongoing activities to improve consumer support for low carbon heating and states it will further detail improvements in the Warm Homes Plan.
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Deferred
We received written evidence from the Retrofit Academy, Schneider Electric, Energy UK and MCS Service Company which highlighted that meeting the target to install 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028 will require a large increase in the number of trained installers. The Heat Pump Association and the Heat Pump …
Government response. The government agrees with the recommendation to increase the number of trained heat pump installers and describes existing initiatives like the Heat Training Grant and new apprenticeships. However, decisions on future training support beyond April 2025 are deferred to Spending …
HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Deferred
DESNZ said that training new installers was a “growing industry”. It stated that it was investing £29 million from 2021–22 to 2024–25 to train installers in the heat sector. Part of this spend includes a £5 million Heat Training Grant to support up to 10,000 heat pump and heat network …
Government response. The government agrees but defers decisions on future training support beyond April 2025 to Spending Review 2025. It acknowledges the need for more installers, highlights ongoing work like apprenticeship updates and establishing the Office for Clean Energy Jobs, and will …
HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Deferred
In September 2023, the government announced that some homes may be exempt from the planned phase-out of new fossil fuel boilers in 2035. The government estimated that around a fifth of households might be exempt. Examples of such homes could cover those requiring energy efficiency or electrical connection upgrades, those …
Government response. The government accepts the committee's observations and commits to providing further information on properties unsuitable for traditional heat pumps and appropriate alternative technologies, aligning with the publication of its commissioned research report from Summer 2025.
HM Treasury
25
Recommendation
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Deferred
In response to our question about how it would identify which homes are unsuitable for a heat pump and therefore exempt from the 2035 phase out, DESNZ said that it was some way from determining this, given the deadline was not until 2035. It outlined that it intended to consult …
Government response. The government accepts the implied recommendation to identify homes unsuitable for heat pumps and to provide alternative low-carbon solutions, but defers the action to publish relevant research until Summer 2025. This research will detail properties not suitable for traditional heat …
HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Deferred
The NAO reported that DESNZ was yet to determine its approach for homes that are complex to decarbonise. DESNZ told us that it considered that heat networks would be the next major alternative low-carbon technology for people living in properties that are unsuitable for a heat pump. DESNZ outlined that …
Government response. The government accepts the implied recommendation to determine an approach for homes complex to decarbonise, committing to publish a research report by Summer 2025. This report will provide further information on properties unsuitable for traditional heat pumps and appropriate alternative …
HM Treasury
38
Recommendation
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Deferred
We examined, in a separate inquiry, DESNZ’s ambitions for decarbonising the power sector and concluded that it lacked an overarching delivery plan that would provide confidence to the private sector to invest in new and upgraded infrastructure. We also warned that this made it difficult for DESNZ to understand the …
Government response. The government agrees with the recommendation but defers the implementation date pending new ministerial steers. It has appointed a 2030 Mission Control to accelerate critical clean energy infrastructure delivery, with further information to be announced.
HM Treasury