Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Whilst the Department extended the scheme’s duration by 12 months in November 2020, it later...
Conclusion
Whilst the Department extended the scheme’s duration by 12 months in November 2020, it later let these businesses down when on 27 March 2021 it suddenly announced the Scheme would close at the end of 31 March 2021.35 This abrupt cancellation itself had negative impacts on the companies who invested in the scheme. For instance, the Federation of Master Builders reported loss of time and money, redundancies of staff hired to meet demand from the scheme, and reputational damage through being unable to service all their customers in the limited time available. It also stated that maintaining PAS certification requires continuous work, and thus the closure of the Scheme risked the loss of capacity in the industry.36
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
3.2 The department recognises the impact that the shortened timescale had on officials’ ability to meaningfully engage with consumers and installers, and that the scheme administrator’s digital delivery complicated these processes. 3.3 The pace of the GHGv scheme delivery led to some policy design decisions that added complexity to the user experience. However, key elements of the scheme design were informed by important learnings from previous schemes, including the prioritisation of robust quality assurance and customer protection. 3.4 This necessarily drove the quality standard requirements for tradespeople to be registered with TrustMark and have the relevant trade certifications, in line with the recommendations set out in the 2016 Each Home Counts (EHC) review. The department remains committed to implementing the outcomes of the EHC review and the importance of high standards in retrofit, including the transition to the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2030/2035:2019, which represent an industry-wide approach to ensuring quality home retrofit and consumer protection. 3.5 Nevertheless, it is recognised that policy implementation can be improved. For each proposed policy development, the department aims to undertake robust public consultation to gather views of potentially affected stakeholders and seek feedback from consumers on the effectiveness of policy implementation. 3.6 All policy development is underpinned by the Policy Profession Standards, which defines the skills and knowledge required from all UK Civil Servants involved in policy work. Lessons learned from the GHGv scheme are being shared across the department and will inform the development of future schemes.