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Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

Faulty energy efficiency installations

Status: Open Opened: 10 Jul 2025 19 recommendations 20 conclusions 1 report

The Energy Company Obligation 4 (ECO4) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS), both funded via energy consumers’ bills, are government schemes for the installation of energy-efficiency improvements in people’s homes, such as insulation. Not-for-profit quality assurance company TrustMark identified issues with both schemes, with government announcing in January 2025 issues including insufficient ventilation, missing …

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Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
62nd Report - Faulty energy efficiency installations HC 1229 23 Jan 2026 39 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

3 items
37 Conclusion 62nd Report - Faulty energy efficiency … Deferred

ECO failures undermine public confidence in retrofits, prompting Departmental system tightening.

Written evidence from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, AgilityEco and the Green Homes Group told us how the failures with ECO are undermining public confidence in retrofits, potentially with negative impacts on our ability to reduce both fuel poverty and carbon emissions.88 The Department …

Government response. The government refers to its response to recommendation 2, highlighting the 'find-and-fix' programme and the letter to the Committee dated 6 February 2026 addressing recommendation 3, stating that their approach of holding the system to account will continue after the …
HM Treasury
38 Conclusion 62nd Report - Faulty energy efficiency … Deferred

Lack of independence between retrofit assessors and installers is a key design flaw.

We pressed the Department on a key outstanding design flaw: retrofit assessors (who provide information about a home’s energy performance) and retrofit coordinators (who manage the project and should check the retrofit is completed to the correct standards) can be appointed and contracted by the installer they are assessing.93 The …

Government response. The government refers to its response to recommendation 2, highlighting the 'find-and-fix' programme and the letter to the Committee dated 6 February 2026 addressing recommendation 3, stating that their approach of holding the system to account will continue after the …
HM Treasury
39 Conclusion 62nd Report - Faulty energy efficiency … Deferred

Systemic failings identified across retrofit system, prompting departmental reform based on principles.

Ultimately, the Department made its position very clear. It told us there were “serious failings at every level of the system that are systemic” and that it intends to reform the system to better protect consumers.97 Since we took evidence in November 2025, the government announced that it would end …

Government response. The government refers to its response to recommendation 2, highlighting the 'find-and-fix' programme and the letter to the Committee dated 6 February 2026 addressing recommendation 3, stating that their approach of holding the system to account will continue after the …
HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
13 Nov 2025 Clive Maxwell CB CBE · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Deborah Chittenden · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Jeremy Pocklington CB · Ministry of Defence, Jonathan Brearley · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Jonathan Brearley · Ofgem, Kiera Schoenemann · Ofgem, Matt Gantley · United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), Simon Ayers MBE · TrustMark View ↗

Correspondence

6 letters
DateDirectionTitle
21 May 2026 From cttee Letter to the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Energy Security and Net…
23 Feb 2026 To cttee Letter from the Interim Permanent Secretary at the Department for Energy Securi…
12 Jan 2026 To cttee Letter from the Chief Executive Officer of the Installation Assurance Authority…
8 Dec 2025 To cttee Letter from the Chief Executive of the UK Accreditation Service relating to the…
8 Dec 2025 To cttee Letter from the Interim Permanent Secretary at the Department for Energy Securi…
1 Dec 2025 To cttee Letter from the Chief Operating Officer at TrustMark relating to the Committee’…