Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the system of installer self‑certification through Competent Person schemes on consumer protection for Green Deal participants.

Both the Green Deal and the competent person schemes contain consumer protections but they work independently of each other. Therefore, work paid for through the Green Deal and carried out by a competent person scheme installer will benefit from both sets of consumer protections. The Department has done no recent research of the effects of competent person schemes on consumer protection for Green Deal participants.

The Green Deal is a Department for Energy Security and Net Zero policy. It was a loan scheme that existed to help people make energy saving improvements to their home that was mostly active during 2013-2015. The Green Deal has its own consumer protection system provided for by the Green Deal Framework Regulations and Code of Practice, and its own system of participant authorisation requiring certification of installers by the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body.

Competent person scheme operators register and oversee installers who can self-certify that their work meets the building regulations. These schemes have existed for more than 20 years and cover small building work such as plumbing and electricity. The scheme operators offer consumer protections such as ensuring registered installers are properly qualified and dealing with complaints.