Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 37
37
Deferred
ECO failures undermine public confidence in retrofits, prompting Departmental system tightening.
Conclusion
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 told us it is “tightening up” the current system, and that it expects this to help rebuild the public’s confidence in the ECO schemes and wider retrofits.89 It told us, for example: • As of March 2025, it is a requirement for retrofit coordinators, who manage the design and installation of the measures, to physically visit each project site to help ensure the design is appropriate for the specific property.90 83 C&AG’s Report, para 4.12 84 FEE0019 85 Q 131 86 FEE0023 87 Q 132 88 FEE0014, FEE0015, FEE0016, FEE0023 89 Qq 97, 99, 100 90 Q 99 22 • Organisations across the system are working together to share information and collectively make more informed decisions.91 • TrustMark and the certification bodies suspended 38 installer businesses, representing 81% of the external wall insulation market. As of November 2025, 22 installers had been fully reinstated after meeting requirements on TrustMark’s “robust six-point plan”, including full remediation of the problems identified.92
Government Response Summary
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 ECO4 scheme has ended.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
7. PAC conclusion: The serious failings to protect consumers on these schemes risk undermining confidence in all the Department’s retrofit schemes. 7a. PAC recommendation: The Department should give high priority to ensuring - and indeed should guarantee that within a reasonable period as defined by the Department and communicated to the Committee in the Treasury Minute response - all defective homes are remediated even after the current scheme has ended. 7.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 7.2 The government's approach to dealing with the non-compliance issues highlighted in the NAO and Committee’s reports is set out in response to recommendation 2 above; and high priority is being given to the find-and-fix programme. The department’s overall response of holding the system to account, set out in the letter to the Committee dated 6 February 2026 responding to recommendation 3, will continue after the ECO4 scheme has ended.