Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what financial or practical support is available to homeowners whose properties have been damaged by poorly installed insulation under government schemes; and whether he plans to establish a dedicated compensation or remediation fund for such properties.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The cost of remediation sits with the original installer. For every measure installed under TrustMark schemes, a guarantee is required to be in place. If the installer is no longer trading, then the guarantee policy will kick in up to the cap for that policy. For SWI the cap is £20k.
In rare cases where the costs exceed the cap, the Department will continue to facilitate solutions with organisations across the sector.
As part of our reforms, we will be improving protections for consumers, ensuring, in the rare cases they are needed, financial protection products fully protect consumers and it’s clear how consumers get the help they need.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the disproportionate effect of failed insulation schemes on low-income households targeted by previous government energy-efficiency programmes.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
ECO has installed measures in 2.6m households. ECO4 was designed to address deep fuel poverty by addressing the worst properties first. When installed correctly, insulation can help reduce energy costs.
DESNZ has acknowledged there have been quality failings with SWI measures installed under the current ECO4 and GBIS schemes. As a result, we have committed to a property level check, followed by remediation of any issues found, for all households fitted with EWI under those schemes.
Our Warm Homes Plan will outline the full package of measures proposed to support those on low-income and get people out of fuel-poverty.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what mechanisms are in place to hold contractors and installers accountable for poor workmanship on government-backed insulation schemes in cases where the original firms have since ceased trading.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We have been clear that the original installer is responsible for remediating issues with their work and for the costs of doing so. Where an installer ceases to trade or in some cases fails to rectify an issue, TrustMark require a guarantee to have been issued which for SWI will cover up to £20k.
We are working with Ofgem, TrustMark, certification bodies, energy suppliers and guarantee providers to encourage businesses to fulfil their responsibilities.
Where installers refuse to engage with remediation requests, TrustMark and certification bodies can suspend or remove their certifications. This prevents them being awarded any new work.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the public health impact of prolonged exposure to damp and mould caused by defective insulation installed under government energy-efficiency schemes.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Everyone deserves to live in a healthy and warm home. Damp and mould can have a serious impact on the health of residents.
The audits the Department has commissioned into Solid Wall Insulations on ECO4 and GBIS schemes consider risks to health and safety and where any such risk is identified, we require the installer to make it safe within 24 hours. For government schemes, it is the responsibility of the installer to fix any defective installation and if they cease to trade, then the guarantee for that work can be exercised by the householder.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how future home energy efficiency programmes are planned to be independently audited to ensure quality assurance and prevent a recurrence of widespread installation failures such as those identified in Fishwick and Chilton.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is reviewing the system of consumer protection and oversight for home retrofit installations, and is committed to creating a simpler, stronger system of standards and oversight that will give consumers confidence.
We will look at the entire landscape: from how installers work in people’s homes to where homeowners turn for rapid action and enforcement if things go wrong. More information will be shared in our Warm Homes Plan.
The Government is planning to consult on proposals for retrofit system reform early next year.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has worked with the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government to assess the implications of insulation-related building damage on housing safety and standards.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring building work is done to the highest levels of quality and safety, be that in new builds, high rise or the home retrofit space such as Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme / Great British Insulation Scheme. The Department is working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Building Safety Regulator on reforms to the consumer protection system to improve accountability and support higher-quality installations including addressing the issues identified in the NAO report pertaining to the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when his Department was first made aware of systemic failings in (a) the Fishwick project in Preston and (b) other government-backed insulation schemes; and what steps have been taken to investigate and rectify those failures.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem was first made aware of concerns with insulation issues in Fishwick in 2013 and they engaged with the energy supplier responsible to secure remediation.
Since then, National Energy Action (NEA) have led remediation schemes to support residents but we understand that there are still homes needing remediation. DESNZ has been in contact with NEA.
ECO4 / GBIS non-compliance issues were alerted to DESNZ in October 2024. Since that date thousands of additional audits have taken place and any issues are being fixed. We have offered an audit to all homes fitted with EWI under these schemes.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the number of homes affected by defective insulation installed under government schemes between 2013 and 2021; and if he will commission a national audit of all such properties.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Data has not been collected regarding the specific number of houses affected by non-compliance, however failure rates from audits of individual measures has been collected for some schemes of which a summary is included in the NAO report.
For SWI installed under ECO4 and GBIS we have calculated the number of homes affected. We acknowledge that issues have emerged in other schemes, however this is not on the scale seen with EWI issues under ECO4 / GBIS. We have recent published results from audits on our housing association and local authority based schemes on gov.uk.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish (a) the 2019 government-commissioned report into the Fishwick external wall insulation scheme and (b) any other reports identifying widespread failure in similar government-backed schemes.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are aware of unresolved issues with external wall insulation in Fishwick under the Community Energy Savings Programme (a supplier obligation based scheme)
The Department will continue to update the House on energy efficiency schemes, including the publication of relevant analysis.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans his Department has to for hydrogen-related funding in (a) Bradford East constituency and (b) West Yorkshire, in the context of his Department's Net Zero Strategy.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK Government is committed to supporting the growth of the hydrogen economy through its Hydrogen Allocation Rounds (HARs). In the first hydrogen allocation round (HAR1), announced in December 2023, 11 projects were selected to receive over £2 billion in revenue support for green hydrogen production. Additionally, £90 million in capital grant funding was awarded, with the potential to create up to 760 new jobs.
This includes Bradford Low Carbon Hydrogen, located in Bradford city centre, which will produce hydrogen for diggers and buses. Published subsidy award details for this project include a Direct Grant of £13 million and £396 million under the Hydrogen Production Business Model. The exact amount of funding will depend on the hydrogen produced at the site over a 15 year period.