Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
a government supported scheme Fit homes with exterior wall insulation The expenditure watchdog has found that this has left thousands of families worse off as they face damp, mold and other serious health hazards.
Almost all homes have insulation installed under the government’s Energy Company Responsibility (ECO) scheme Major issues need to be fixed The National Audit Office (NAO) said, due to poor government oversight.
designed to improve energy efficiency And due to low housing costs, thousands of families who were supposed to benefit from the scheme are now waiting for repairs due to inadequate work.
The report found that about 98 percent of homes that had exterior wall insulation installed under the government program – about 22,000 to 23,000 homes – had major problems that would cause problems, such as damp and mold, and would require work to fix.
It said the 9,000 to 13,000 homes with internal insulation, about 29 percent of which had measures taken, also had major issues that needed fixing.
A small percentage of installations, 6 percent in the case of external insulation and 2 percent in the case of internal insulation, have problems that present themselves immediately. Health and safety risks, such as poor ventilation that can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning, and electrical safety issues that can cause fires.
In response to the NAO’s findings, anti-fuel poverty campaigners warned that the system had “let the cowboys in the front door”, and called for it to be fixed to reduce energy bills and keep people warm.
The NAO said the reason there were so many poor quality installations under the scheme, which pays for energy efficiency measures out of consumer bills, could be sub-contracting work to firms and individuals who were not competent, cutbacks in businesses and uncertainty over standards.
Although the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) implemented a new consumer protection system for the scheme in 2021, including the appointment of Trustmark, it failed to alert the department about significant issues with the quality of installations until October 2024.
The NAO said the ECO scheme had weak government oversight, an overly complex consumer protection system, funding arrangements for trustmarks that limited the ability to fully get analytical systems up and running until late 2024, and inadequate auditing and monitoring.
Furthermore, Ofgem estimated in November 2024 that businesses had made false claims for ECO installation for between 5,600 and 16,500 homes, potentially claiming between £56 million and £165 million from energy suppliers – and ultimately from bill payers.
DESNZ and Ofgem took action after Trustmark flagged the problems, including suspending and contacting the worst performing installers. houses who are potentially affected, the NAO said.
It called on the government to take responsibility for schemes like ECO, even if funded by consumer bills, and to clarify its approach to its upcoming warm homes scheme as well as the repair of faulty insulation.
The watchdog said DESNZ should also improve customer protections and publish annual data on fraud and non-compliance for its retrofit schemes.
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “ECO and other such schemes are vital to reducing fuel poverty and helping to meet the government’s ambitions for energy efficiency.
“But clear failures in the design and set-up of ECOs and the consumer protection system have led to poor quality installations as well as suspected fraud.
“DESNZ must now ensure that businesses meet their obligations to repair all affected homes as quickly as possible. It must also improve the system so this does not happen again.”
Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “The NAO report reveals a system that has let the cowboys in the front door, leaving thousands of victims living in misery and undermining public trust in efforts to tackle the crisis of cold damp homes facing many families.”
“Now we need to fix the system, not abandon it,” he urged, calling for properly trained installers, independent inspections and quick fixes if things go wrong, to guarantee quality in the Warm Homes scheme.
Energy Consumer Minister Martin McCluskey said: “Today’s report highlights unacceptable, systemic failures in the installation of solid wall insulation in these schemes, which have directly affected thousands of families.”
He said the government had taken “decisive action” to protect homes and ensure all faulty installations of solid wall insulation were rectified at no cost to the consumer.
“We are fixing the broken system left by the previous government by introducing sweeping reforms to make the process clearer and straightforward, and in the rare cases where things go wrong, there will be clear lines of accountability, so consumers are guaranteed to get any problems fixed quickly,” Mr McCluskey said.