In the wake of the Government’s announcement that it would end funding to the Green Deal Home Improvement fund, we have rounded up a range of industry comment: 

Kevin Wellman, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE):

“We always felt that Green Deal was flawed and clearly put homeowners who took up the loan at a disadvantage, especially when they wanted to sell their home. The loan is attached to the property and added to the electricity bill, so if it was assessed for the needs of a large family wanting lots of hot water, etc, the same rule may not apply to the new occupiers who bought it. They could be paying much higher bills in the long run.”

Ian Fletcher, British Property Federation:

“It won’t come as a surprise to many to see that the Government has decided to end its financing of the Green Deal Finance Company. Many will use this as an opportunity to bemoan the scheme and its failings, but of greater importance is where we go from here. The end of the Green Deal will impact on many other policy areas including the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) passed by the previous Government, which was designed to dovetail with a pay-as-you-save energy efficiency scheme.

“We are concerned that without a functioning pay-as-you-save scheme, the premise set out in the regulations that meeting energy efficiency targets should come at no upfront cost to the property owner is now in jeopardy.”

Peter Thom, MD of Green Heat:

“I’ve been one of the greatest supporters of this initiative. We have tried very hard to make it work over the past two years, but despite regularly raising our concerns with Government so improvements could be made, too much red tape has continued to prevent smaller installers like us from delivering the improvements our customers want – and can benefit from.

“Sadly, contrary to the Government’s promises to improve the energy efficiency of UK homes, the Green Deal has left homeowners and installers frustrated, confused, out-of-pocket, and ultimately misled.

“The scheme was meant to be easily accessible to all, but training and certification requirements have been a cost to small installer businesses and have diverted time away from making the all-important energy efficiency improvements to our customers’ homes.”

Martyn Reed, Operations Director at Elmhurst Energy:

“It is very disappointing news for Elmhurst Energy and many of its members who have trained and invested time and resources in promoting an initiative which had the best of intentions. The announcement was particularly disappointing because it arrived with no consultation with the stakeholders nor a clear plan to ensure the supply chain can remain intact until the next initiative is launched.”

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB:

“The Government would have been wise to reform, rebrand and relaunch the Green Deal rather than scrap it altogether. What’s clear is that the need to improve the energy efficiency of our properties is an increasingly pressing priority, but the Government is showing very little leadership or ambition. The goal of insulating a million more homes over the next five years is a meager target when you consider that around 5 million homes were provided with energy efficiency improvements through various schemes over the past five years. Although the Green Deal was disappointing in terms of what it achieved, it demonstrated that Government was serious about reducing the carbon emissions from our homes. As we get closer to the 2050 carbon reduction target, the Government should be increasing investment in this area but instead, Ministers have side lined energy efficiency – filing it under ‘too difficult’ and ‘too expensive’.”

Stewart Clements, Heating and Hotwater Industry Council Director:

“I am concerned that little thought appears to have been given to a replacement. There are still over 12 million inefficient boilers fitted in UK homes, with almost 80% of homes not having even the most basic controls. Our aging housing stock remains one of the worst in Europe and if we are to support ‘hard working families’ and whilst achieving our carbon emission targets, then a new mechanism needs to be developed.”

Dani Putney, Renewable Sector Specialist at NICEIC and ELECSA:

“In theory it should have worked. In reality though the scheme was over engineered, difficult to market and a nightmare to access. We can’t let the knowledge, skills and know-how that has built up over the last few years go to waste. We would urge the Government to learn from this and consult with those who worked hard to try and make Green Deal work before it comes up with any new policy. There is no doubt that all these measures will have a drastic effect on the renewable sector.”

Neil Schofield, Head of Governmental and External Affairs at Worcester, Bosch Group:

“It is no real surprise to see the Green Deal effectively scrapped before it ever really took off, in a month where we’ve already seen the Government indicate cuts to the Feed-in Tariff and the end of its zero carbon homes policy. The question now is which scheme will be next to follow – the RHI or ECO?

“While the intention behind the Green Deal may have been positive, the complexity it added to the supply chain, its unappealing interest rate, and the way in which it marginalised our network of heating engineers made success very unlikely. At a time when the Conservatives are still finding their feet on energy policy and are under pressure to reduce spending, it was always going to be difficult to justify a future for a scheme so many had already written off as a failure. In this respect, it is hard not to agree with the Government’s decision to axe what was originally hailed as its ‘flagship household energy efficiency programme’.”

Jeremy Hawksley, Director General at OFTEC:

“The Government seems to be finally recognising that its current carbon reduction policies simply aren’t fit for purpose. Green Deal failed to deliver its potential and the extremely low take up of the domestic RHI just serves to highlight the lack of appetite most consumers have for expensive renewable technologies ­– even with Government support.

“Instead of encouraging people to completely change their heating systems, which can be both costly and complicated, the Government should be pushing more affordable, easier to implement measures such as a boiler scrappage scheme.”

David Mooney, Green Deal Consultant:

“Although the Green Deal has been widely criticised since its launch in January 2013, over recent months there was sufficient evidence to show that the scheme was working well, with the GDFC themselves tweeting a record £2.6 million worth of Green Deal Plans processed in just one week alone before its demise.

“This has left many Green Deal Providers and Installers reeling, having invested blood, sweat and tears into the government scheme. The market is currently under review by Government and many participants are waiting for an outcome to see if something can be resolved or whether something new will take its place.”