Rishi Sunak scraps home energy efficiency

The government’s energy efficiency taskforce has quietly been disbanded, the BBC can reveal.

It comes after Rishi Sunak scrapped energy efficiency regulations for landlords in an overhaul of green policies.

The taskforce was set up in March to speed up home insulation and boiler upgrades.

Improving energy efficiency is seen as a key way to get household bills down and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

The UK is often described as having some of the oldest and least energy efficient housing in Europe.

In 2020, BBC research found 12 million UK homes were rated D or below on their Energy Performance Certificates, which means they do not meet long-term energy efficiency targets.

This year a BBC investigation found six out of 10 recently inspected UK rental homes failed to meet a proposed new standard for energy efficiency.

The prime minister has now pledged to scrap policies that would force landlords to upgrade energy efficiency in their homes, after pressure from landlords about the costs of doing so, but said the government would “encourage” households to carry out the work.

The old policy was that from 2025, new tenancies would only be possible on properties with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of C or higher – from 2028, this would apply to existing tenancies as well. Both have been scrapped.

The government’s energy efficiency taskforce was first announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt at his last Autumn statement.

It was asked by ministers to come up with a plan to reduce energy demand by 15% from 2021 levels by 2030 across domestic and commercial buildings.

When it was announced, the government said this would cut bills and help push down inflation and would include “accelerating household insulation and boiler upgrades.”

It was chaired by Alison Rose, who was chief executive of Nat West bank at the time (she was forced out of the bank in July after a row over Nigel Farage’s bank account).

The taskforce’s membership included: the chair of the National Infrastructure Commission Sir John Armitt; head of leading housebuilder Barratt Developments, David Thomas; and leading experts from the University of Salford, the UK Green Building Council and National Energy Action.

Energy efficiency minister Lord Callanan wrote to members of the group on Friday saying co-chair Dame Alison Rose would not be replaced and the group would be dissolved.

In the letter, seen by the BBC, Lord Callanan says the group’s work would be “streamlined” into ongoing government activity.

The minister writes that the ideas and discussions that had come from the group had been “hugely valuable in supporting the ambition to reduce total UK energy demand by 15% from 2021 levels by 2030.”

He adds that the work to date had not been “wasted” and that “draft recommendations will be instrumental in driving forward this important agenda.”

In response, energy analyst Jess Ralston at the non-profit organisation, the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, told the BBC: “This appears to be yet another U-turn that could lead to higher bills, just like the prime minister’s decision last week to roll back landlord insulation standards that could leave renters paying an additional £8bn on energy bills.

“The gas boiler and petrol car phase-out weren’t set to have any impact on cost of living for struggling families for more than a decade, but insulation programmes could have a more immediate impact, yet the prime minister ditched that policy last week and now the government seems to be turning its back on experts and ideas that could help boost energy efficiency.”

She added: “Is government giving up on energy efficiency and those living in leaky homes unable to make the improvements that would keep them warmer?

“Experts like Citizen’s Advice are clear if you want to bring down bills you do energy efficiency, you help people to stop wasting heat through rooves, windows and walls.”

The group also said the government “could have easily replaced Alison Rose, there are lots of business people who feel they have a stake in how homes can be improved.”

— Reports /TrainViral/