Overconfidence can undermine the best of intentions and the Government needs to ensure victims of the failed energy efficiency installation initiative are provided the right level of support to fix the damage done to their homes.

The fact that more than 30,000 homes have been left with defects thanks to a home retrofit scheme which failed at every level, according to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), is shocking in itself.

But when Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the chair of the PAC, who has served on the committee for 12 years, says that “in all that time, a 98 per cent failure rate in a public sector initiative amounts to the most catastrophic fiasco that I have seen on this committee”, it really drives home the scale of the home insulation scandal.

The Yorkshire Post has seen first-hand the impact this has had on affected homeowners. The strain that they have been put under for simply trying to do the right thing environmentally. What should have been a win-win scheme turned into a nightmare. The current Government must bring an end to this nightmare. And it won’t be able to do this unless it acts on the recommendations set out by the PAC in its report.

Terraced houses in Halifax, where a victim of the insulation scandal lives. PIC: Jonathan Gawthorpe

placeholder image — Terraced houses in Halifax, where a victim of the insulation scandal lives. PIC: Jonathan Gawthorpe

And there is enough evidence for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to be called in to investigate the extent of fraud involved in poor quality installations. The PAC has even taken the unusual step of recommending that the Government refer the issue to the SFO.

This whole scandal points to systemic failings that the Government needs to learn lessons from. Especially as Britain looks to make homes more energy efficient in the face of growing climate challenges. Homeowners looking at other retrofit schemes would be forgiven for thinking twice off the back of this scandal.