A loan scheme which enables homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of
their properties is needed if the UK is to reduce energy consumption, cut
carbon emissions and bring down consumer bills, says the leading professional
body for the construction sector.
The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), in its response to the Energy
Security and Net Zero Committee’s recent ‘Heating
our Homes’ inquiry has reiterated previous calls for Government to support
the Construction Leadership Council’s National
Retrofit Strategy.
It includes a “help to fix” scheme which provides homeowners with an
interest-free government loan to cover the full costs of home improvements.
CIOB says previous government schemes such as the Green Homes Grant and
Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) have failed for several reasons, most notably that
homeowners were required to part fund energy efficiency work in a lump sum. For
many this simply wasn’t an option at the time the schemes were on offer, and
certainly isn’t amid a cost-of-living crisis says CIOB’s policy team.
In February 2023, the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change
Committee noted if the current take-up rate of the BUS continues, only half of
the allocated budget will be used.
CIOB adds that a scheme where the full cost of home improvements such as
double glazing, insulation, new heating systems and even bigger jobs like loft
conversions or extensions, are covered by a loan, is the only way many
homeowners could afford to have work carried out, and government should develop
such a scheme if they seriously want to meet its energy and carbon reduction
targets.
David Parry, CIOB’s parliamentary and public affairs officer, said: “We and
the wider industry have been calling for a national strategy for retrofitting
for years now but we’re not being listened to. Poorly planned, ad-hoc schemes
such as the Green Homes Grant have been failures because homeowners are still
expected to find a percentage of the cost of having work carried out on their
home and people just don’t have that disposable income.
“A long-term initiative where homeowners can borrow the full cost of
improvement works would in our view incentivise a big upturn in demand which in
turn will help improve the energy efficiency and quality of the nation’s
housing stock, reduce energy use and associated costs for consumers, while also
cutting carbon emissions and accelerating the move to net zero. Factored into a
wider strategy, developed with industry experts, which considers the training
of a skilled workforce, a “Help to Fix” scheme could go a long way to achieving
the goals the Government has set itself but is currently nowhere near
meeting.”
CIOB adds that funding isn’t the only reason previous schemes have failed,
and issues with promoting them, consumer confidence and ensuring skilled
tradespeople were available to meet the demand for their services, also
contributed to their downfall.
The House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee also noted that
public awareness of low-carbon heating systems is limited, and the promotion of
the BUS was inadequate. This was echoed in CIOB consumer data, which indicated
that, of 2,000 UK adults polled in February 2023, 53 per cent had not heard of
the BUS, Home Upgrade Grant, ECO Plus/ECO+ Scheme or the Social Housing
Decarbonisation Fund.
Eurostat data and research from the Building Research Establishment
indicates that energy consumption in buildings accounts for 45 per cent of the
UK’s carbon emissions. Notably the UK has one of the oldest housing stocks in
Europe, with the smallest proportion of homes built after 1970 and the second
highest proportion built before 1919.
Parry added: “Our response to the “Heating our Homes” inquiry has given us
the opportunity to once again reiterate our belief, and that of the wider built
environment sector, that a national strategy is required if progress is to be
made on retrofitting UK homes. Any such strategy must be created with multiple
future governments in mind and have a broad consensus across the political
spectrum if its to deliver results at the pace and scale required so we hope
our calls will no longer continue to fall on deaf ears.”
