Yorkshire firms join EEIG in call for new Prime Minister to formulate retrofitting stratergy

In a document published on Monday, the EEIG’s set out a new list of principles as part of their ECO Plus scheme, defined by the EEIG as a “voluntary, energy supplier-led, government-backed scheme to provide millions of British households with access to financial support for retrofit measures to make their homes more energy efficient and permanently cut fuel bills.”

The principals aim to give guidance to the new Prime Minister on how to permanently both alleviate fuel poverty, and improve the energy efficiency of the UK’s housing stock.

Ecology Building Society, based in Silsden, gave their support to the EEIG’s principals.

Martin Sims, Chief Operating Officer at Ecology Building Society, explained why Ecology supports such initiatives as part of a national retrofitting strategy.

He said: “As the cost of energy continues to rise, putting millions at risk of fuel poverty, we need to urgently accelerate making the UK’s homes more energy efficient.

“The ECO Plus Principles provide a mechanism for the Government deliver rapid improvements to the UK’s housing stock. Ecology has long been calling for a National Retrofit Strategy to kickstart the retrofit revolution and make warm homes affordable for all as well as reaching the Government’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

“As well as prioritising initiatives such as ECO Plus, we’d like to see the Government deliver, at pace, on a wide-ranging package to support green building including: Grants; stamp duty reform to incentivise creation of energy efficient homes; tightening building regulations, developing the retrofit supply chain and driving the market for green finance.”

The EEIG recommends that £3 billion of public funding is required in order to start their proposed program.

Their document suggests funding should be allocated over three years, “ramping up annual spending in line with supply chain capacity and investment projections, with a plan for continuation and funding post 2025 out to 2030.”

It adds that funding should be allocated from new spending commitments, not diverted from existing funding pots, insisting the scheme should be open to “lower and middle income owner-occupier households now at risk of falling into fuel poverty, with simple and transparent eligibility criteria for all scheme participants.”

IPPR North, a think tank for the North of England, also stated its support for the principles.

Luke Myer, Research Fellow at IPPR North said: “Properly funded and communicated, a national retrofitting scheme can mean warmer homes and lower energy bills, as well as creating hundreds of thousands of installation jobs across the country.”

“However, retrofit needs are different across the country, so any scheme needs to be delivered in coordination with local government.”

Last year, the IPPR also published a plan laying out the scale of what is required.

It found that the government was only installing nine per cent of the cavity wall insulation needed, three per cent of the loft insulation needed, and six per cent of the heat pumps needed to achieve net zero by 2050.