BMF questions effectiveness of the Great British Insulation Scheme

The Builders Merchants Federation gave a cautious welcome to measures to increase the energy efficiency of UK homes confirmed as part of its net zero and energy security strategy, Powering Up Britain, but will still campaign for more to be done through the National Retrofit Strategy.

The government’s previously announced ECO+ initiative, now rebranded as The Great British Insulation Scheme, is set to launch in Summer 2023 and run until March 2026. It will provide £1bn over three years to upgrade 300,000 homes with an energy performance certificate of D or below and in the lower Council Tax bands (A-D in England, and A-E in Scotland and Wales).

BMF CEO John Newcomb said:

“Of course, we welcome any scheme that aims to help householders with the cost of installing new home insulation.  However, this is still far cry from the benefits that would be afforded by a long-term National Retrofit Strategy to upgrade all 29 million homes in the UK that require improvement to reduce both energy bills and CO2 emissions.

“Government backing for this long-term plan would have the added benefit of creating up to 500,000 skilled jobs and we will continue to campaign for the adoption of the National Retrofit Strategy.”