Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
Boiler Upgrade Scheme's universal grants risk "deadweight" for affluent heat pump adopters.
Recommendation
We asked DESNZ whether heat pumps were being installed by people who may have switched to a heat pump anyway, particularly more affluent households. DESNZ accepted that the universal nature of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme raised a prospect of “deadweight”, with some recipients able to afford to install a heat pump even without the grant, but explained that it decided to have a flat-rate scheme for “simplicity” rather than linking grants to income. It told us that it believed that its approach was supported by the increase in applications since the grant uplift. DESNZ is evaluating uptake of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant among different socio-economic groups, for which interim results are due in the second half of 2024.16
Government Response Summary
Government agrees with the recommendation and commits to writing to the Committee by Spring 2025 upon publication of interim findings from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme evaluation, detailing heat pump uptake among different socio-economic groups.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2025 1.2 The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will write to the new Committee upon publication of the first set of interim findings from the Evaluation of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which is expected to take place in Spring 2025. This correspondence will highlight, amongst other things, the details of heat pump take-up amongst different socio-economic groups.