Government kills off flagship green deal for home insulation

Flagship scheme to insulate homes to end as government blames low take-up and stops funding of company set up to issue home improvement loans

The UK government has effectively killed its flagship scheme to insulate homes because it says take-up has been too low, but has admitted it has nothing to replace the programme with.

The green deal was hailed as “transformational” and the “biggest home improvement programme since the second world war” by ministers when it was launched in 2013.

But the number of householders taking out the unique loans at the heart of the energy efficiency scheme were much lower than had been hoped, with just over 15,000 issued or in progress according to statistics.

On Thursday the Department of Energy and Climate Change said it was ceasing financing to the Green Deal Finance Company which issues the loans, and was bailed out by the government last November with a £34m loan. Today’s move is expected to lead to the company immediately halting the issuing of new loans, although existing ones or loans in progress – known as ‘green deal plans’ – will not be affected.

The government also said it was ditching another element of the scheme, known as the green deal home improvement fund, which saw cashback paid to householders who installed measures such as a new boiler or cavity and solid wall insulation.

Although that fund was rapidly exhausted several times, a spokesman for Decc said it did not “do what we wanted” and created a boom-and-bust model.

Today’s announcement follows a succession of environmental policies being scrapped since the Conservative government came to power, from the ending of onshore windfarm subsidies to curbs on solar subsidies and the dropping of regulations to make all new homes ‘zero carbon’ from next year.

Julie Hirigoyen, chief Executive of the UK Green Building Council, said: “With each passing day, this government puts an end to another green policy. The government’s strategy on dealing with high energy bills through home energy efficiency is now dead in the water.”

The government has no new scheme in place to succeed the green deal, saying simply that it would work with the building industry and consumer groups on energy efficiency policy. Which?, the consumer organisation, said it was right that the government stopped throwing money at a scheme that had not taken off.

Green MP Caroline Lucas said that ministers were evading parliamentary scrutiny in a “cowardly” fashion, as parliament broke for recess on Monday.

How long before we start getting 'fined' for not having sufficient insulation?

A double glazing salesman once told me that people are insulating and draught-proofing their homes so much that problems with a lack of natural air flow are developing. I wonder if this is also why we're seeing such a rise in colds/flu type sicknesses etc.?