Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 39
62nd Report - Faulty energy efficiency installations
Published 23 Jan 2026
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Faulty energy efficiency installations All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
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 ECO, with no levies on bills from April 2026, but that it would continue to invest in tackling fuel poverty through its Warm Homes Plan.98 The Department told us that Ministers had set out three principles for future reform of the system: the system must be simpler and clearer; there must be stronger central oversight, including a much stronger expectation to get things right the first time and appropriate sanctions; and there must be real accountability, with clear redress and remediation when things go wrong. It plans to provide further detail on the reforms in its Warm Homes Plan.99 91 Q 100 92 Qq 82, 100, 102 93 Q 111; C&AG’s Report, Figure 4 and para 4.9 94 C&AG’s Report, para 4.9 95 FEE003, FEE0010, FEE016, FEE0019, FEE0025 96 Q 111 97 Qq 97, 144 98 HM Treasury, Budget 2025, 26 November 2025 99 Qq 97, 98; Retrofit measures under ECO4 and GBIS, Statement by Martin McCluskey on 13 October 2025 23
From: Public Accounts Committee, 62nd Report - Faulty energy efficiency installations (HC 1229), 23 January 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 7 April 2026 (deadline 23 March 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government agrees with most of the Committee's recommendations, but disagrees with the recommendation to halt wall insulation installation without independent supervision and with the recommendation to refer fraud to the Serious Fraud Office.
- On wall insulation, it disagrees with the recommendation, noting that every household with external wall insulation under ECO4 and GBIS "is being and will be offered an on-site audit", subject to the householder accepting; internal wall insulation concerns are triaged and referred for audit where they meet "the threshold of risk factors".
- It agrees on the find-and-fix programme: TrustMark "currently intend" it to complete by May 2027, though the department states it is "unlikely" to deliver on a "significantly shorter timescale". It will update the Committee in writing every six months, first in June 2026.
- It disagrees with referring fraud across ECO to the Serious Fraud Office, stating that this "relates to an existing ongoing responsibility of the regulator", Ofgem, which can and does make referrals where appropriate.
- It agrees to publish an annual report to Parliament on retrofit schemes, with the first publication "before Autumn 2027", and "intends to consult" on the design of a reformed consumer protection system during summer 2026.