Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Gordon Excerpts

Tuesday 18th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Chris McDonald]

I must admit that, as a regular tourist to Cumbria myself, I absolutely appreciate the joys of a countryside pub in the hon. Member’s constituency, and I understand the pressures that they are under. I will leave any commentary on the Budget to the Chancellor at the appropriate time, but rest assured that every day in this job I am making the case for increased competitiveness in British industry.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

6. What steps he is taking to improve consumer confidence in energy efficiency schemes.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Martin McCluskey)]

We are reviewing the system of consumer protection and oversight for home retrofit installations, as the system we inherited is deeply flawed. We are committed to creating a simpler, stronger system of standards and oversight that will give consumers the confidence they deserve. We will consult on proposals for retrofit system reform early next year.

[Alex Easton (North Down) (Ind)]

rose—

[Tom Gordon]

I appreciate the response that the Minister has given. He will not be surprised to hear me banging on—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I say to Mr Easton, you are going to have to sit down, because you are standing in front of the Member who is speaking.

[Tom Gordon]

The Minister will not be surprised to hear me talking about spray foam insulation once again. One of the biggest frustrations that people have is that they do not have faith or trust in Government schemes because of the failure of the installation of spray foam insulation under the previous Government. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that mortgage lenders do away with the blanket ban on providing mortgages to people with spray foam insulation, what steps has he taken to reform TrustMark, and what consideration has he given to fixing the problem once and for all?

[Martin McCluskey]

It is fair to say that I am gripped by this problem, because without confidence in the consumer protection around the installation of these schemes, we will not hit the targets for clean power by 2030, nor create the warm and safe homes that we need. I appreciate the constructive manner in which the hon. Gentleman has addressed the issue. As I discussed with him last month, we are working with lenders and financial institutions to resolve the accessibility of some outstanding financial products, but it is now not the case that all lenders have a blanket ban—we are making some progress on that. We will conduct further assessments to quantify the extent of spray foam, and I am keen to work closely with the hon. Gentleman and others who have examples from their constituencies that can inform how we design the future system.