Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 35
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Although DESNZ clarified that gas networks will be needed for some considerable time, it accepted that it needed to increase its work to look at future decommissioning. The NAO found that DESNZ’s work on the costs and feasibility of gas network decommissioning was in the initial stages, and its understanding was therefore limited. DESNZ indicated that it had a consultation underway with Ofgem to identify the early issues around decommissioning the gas network.71 Our previous reports have demonstrated that a limited upfront understanding of the costs of decommissioning in other sectors such 63 DHH0050 64 DHH0053 65 DHH0003 66 Q 94; C&AG’s Report, para 2.10 67 Qq 94, 98 68 DHH0036, DHH0046, DHH0050; C&AG’s Report, para 24c 69 DHH0036; C&AG’s Report, paras 12, 2.20 70 Qq 104–105; National Infrastructure Commission, Arup - Future of Great Britain’s gas network, October 2023, p.11 71 Qq 103–103; C&AG’s Report, para 2.20 20 Decarbonising home heating as nuclear and oil and gas have required more taxpayers’ money to meet significant additional costs. In the nuclear sector, for example, taxpayers had to top up the cost of decommissioning seven nuclear stations with £10.7 billion, as existing funds did not keep up with the increased costs.72 Decarbonising power generation
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.