Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 39
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 told us that, since our inquiry into decarbonising the power sector, it had shifted its emphasis towards the importance of spatial planning. It explained that this involved considering both overall energy demand at a local level, such as for electric vehicles as well as heating; and how to connect low-carbon generation to individual homes. 72 Committee of Public Accounts, Public cost of decommissioning oil and gas infrastructure, Eighty-Ninth Report of Session 2017–19, HC 1742, 27 March 2019; Committee of Public Accounts, The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s management of the Magnox contract, Twenty-Eighth Report of Session 2019–21, HC 653, 27 November 2020; Committee of Public Accounts, Future of the Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors, Third Report of Session 2022–23, HC 118, 20 May 2022 73 C&AG’s Report, Decarbonising the power sector, Session 2022–23, HC 1131, 1 March 2023, para 1 74 Qq 73–74, 79, 97, 109; DHH0036 75 Committee of Public Accounts, Decarbonising the power sector, Fifty-Ninth Report of Session 2022–23, HC 1003, June 2023 76 Qq 1, 2, 107–108; Committee of Public Accounts, Decarbonising the power sector, Fifty-Ninth Report of Session 2022–23, HC 1003, June 2023; C&AG’s Report, Decarbonising the power sector, Session 2022–23, HC 1131, 1 March 2023, para 9 Decarbonising home heating 21 DESNZ said that work was underway with the National Infrastructure Commission to look at how to build capacity in the distribution network operators to manage the increase in demand for energy, both nationally and at the street level. It added that Ofgem had also started work to identify areas where there will be particularly high levels of demand for energy.77 77 Qq 73–74, 76, 107–108 22 Decarbonising home heating
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.