Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 6
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising home heating
Published 26 May 2024
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Decarbonising home heating All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
DESNZ’s work to test hydrogen for heating has been beset with problems, with key trials cancelled. DESNZ has committed to deciding on the role of hydrogen for heating in 2026. Major trials intended to support its decision have been cancelled or delayed due to local opposition and insufficient supply of hydrogen. It has not tested the role of hydrogen in non-domestic properties. At the time of our evidence session in April 2024, an announcement on a successful bidder for a hydrogen town, planned for the end of this decade, had been delayed by 13 months. Since then, DESNZ has announced that it will not progress work on a hydrogen town pilot until after 2026, thereby meaning information on the pilot will not feed into its decision on hydrogen’s role due in 2026. Overall, this absence of the evidence needed to support any decision is also creating uncertainty for industry to plan and invest on a wider scale and could hamper overall progress. Early planning for any decommissioning of the gas networks, if it is decided that hydrogen has a limited role and electricity becomes the main energy source, is vital to manage costs that we have seen passed to the taxpayer with decommissioning in other sectors, such as nuclear, and oil and gas. Recommendation 6a: DESNZ should, as part of its Treasury Minute response, set out how it will test hydrogen for different types of properties, including domestic and non-domestic properties, so it can make an informed decision on the role of hydrogen for heating. Recommendation 6b: DESNZ should, by end-June 2025, set out how it will undertake any required decommissioning of the gas networks, including how it will be funded.
From: Public Accounts Committee, Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising home heating (HC 653), 26 May 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 11 July 2025 (deadline 26 July 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it agrees with most of the Committee's recommendations on decarbonising home heating, some with target dates still "to be confirmed", and disagrees with one, on gas network decommissioning.
- On heat pump running costs, the government agrees with the recommendation, but implementation is "dependent on further steers from new ministers" and no date is set. It says it "is considering" the best way to bring costs down.
- On installer numbers, the government agrees, with a target of Summer 2025. It says decisions on future training support "will form part of Spending Review 2025 (SR25)", as the Heat Training Grant is funded until April 2025.
- On data, the government agrees to publish quarterly data on retrofit installations using government funding, with a target of Winter 2024. It "cannot commit" to publishing data on new builds or unfunded installations "until a suitable mechanism is found".
- The government disagrees with the recommendation to set out gas network decommissioning arrangements by end-June 2025, saying a full assessment "will require more time". It says it is "currently exploring ways" to facilitate the transition.