Government announces energy saving measures

ePolitix.com Stakeholders comment on the announcement of the government's energy saving measures to help people struggling with rising energy costs.

 

Stakeholder Response: National Insulation Association

Neil Marshall, chief executive of the NIA, told ePolitix.com: "The NIA and its members has embraced today's announcement and sees it as a positive step towards energy efficiency in homes and ultimately, the saving of energy costs for the householder.

"With winter fast approaching, it is essential that these can be installed as soon as possible into people's homes so that they can enjoy lower bills and warmer homes, year after year.

"The ultimate aim is to help people reduce their fuel bills permanently and the hard fact is that fitting adequate insulation is the most effective way of achieving this; providing instant cost saving benefits, but long lasting ones too. The result will be massive savings to be made year after year, often for the entire lifetime of the property.

"At present, less than half of the existing housing stock has adequate levels of insulation. For example, around 9 million homes have unfilled cavity walls, around 15 million homes need more loft insulation and some 7 million dwellings with solid walls also require insulating. 

"The mounting public concern over rising fuel prices, coupled with this new funding initiative, will no doubt result in an unprecedented amount of enquiries for the insulation industry.

"The NIA is confident that it has the capability and capacity to meet the demand over the three-year time period that has been set and are keen to work with energy suppliers and government to ensure these are installed sooner rather than later. 

"The ultimate result will be a reduction in fuel bills as the savings to be made are substantial - cavity wall and loft insulation for example can reduce energy bills in the long-term by an average of around £275 per year and is clean, safe and quick to install.

"The NIA urges householders to consider their insulation requirements without delay as the sooner that measures are fitted the sooner they will benefit from savings.

"The first step should be contacting an approved NIA Installer, who will be able to offer a free home survey whilst giving the correct advice on the grants and subsidies available. NIA members are trained to the highest standards, and governed by a strict code of professional practice. This provides assurance of the very best service possible – from a reputable company which uses approved products."

To find a local NIA member as a first step to benefiting from efficient home insulation, contact the NIA through its easy to use website - www.nationalinsulationassociation.org.uk  or call the lo-call enquiry line 0845 1 636363.

 

Stakeholder Response: Help the Aged

Reacting to the announcement from the government today on fuel poverty, Mervyn Kohler, special adviser at Help the Aged said: "This is a flimsy and failing package which does little to help older people struggling to cope with soaring fuel bills.
 
"The statement simply lacks energy. If the government wants to meet its legal obligations to eradicate fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions, ministers are going to have to deliver a lot more than this.

"What we have in response to runaway energy prices and a fuel poverty strategy in terminal decline is nothing more than a half-defrosted package of inadequate intentions and initiatives.
 
"Proposing extra funds for home insulation is a positive move in the long-term but it makes a mockery of the savage cuts the government imposed in the recent Comprehensive Spending Review.

"The fact that those cuts are having to be reversed is an indication of how out-of-touch with reality the government has become on fuel poverty. Enhancing home insulation is a step in the right direction, but older people need help right now as the winter months approach.

"Individual changes which have been flagged by the prime minister are sensible and move in the right direction, but they are too little, too modest and will take too long to address the urgent plight of many pensioners today.
 
"The government must provide significant funding to meet the crisis facing many older people this winter. At the same time, energy providers must work that bit harder to guarantee that vulnerable customers are paying for their fuel through the lowest cost options and tariffs.
 
"Today's announcement devalues the word 'strategy'. Half-baked measures such as these are not going to address the social emergency of fuel poverty. That's why Help the Aged has joined forces with Friends of the Earth to seek a judicial review of the government's policies to ensure they are held to account. This failure cannot continue."
 

Stakeholder response: Unite

A spokesman for Unite told ePolitix.com: "Whilst assistance of this nature is always welcome, the package really misses the point that Unite and the population at large have been making. It is now that people need help with the bills that are dropping on their floors over the next months.

"A windfall tax was the ideal way to help address this immediate problem with longer-term measures, such as those announced today addressing future needs. You do wonder whether those living on 'Planet Westminster' have any real idea of the problems being faced by low-income families. Clearly not.
 
"Unite will continue to press for a windfall tax on oil and energy companies which should redirect their enormous profits currently being passed onto shareholders and senior executives."

 

Stakeholder Response: Construction Product Association

Michael Ankers, chief executive at the Construction Products Association said: "We need to make it clear that this £1bn is not new money coming from the government, but money provided by the energy companies under their Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT). It is therefore money that all of us have already paid to the energy companies for our energy, it is recycled money.

"None the less, we are pleased the government understands that the real solution to this problem lies in reducing energy use over the long-term, rather than providing short-term subsidies for its consumption, especially as there is a great deal that can and should be done to improve the energy efficiency of existing housing.

"We do recognise that the current sharp price increases create financial and social problems for some of the most vulnerable in society and that the government has to address this in the short-term, but this mustn’t negate the urgent need for investment to deliver a proper long-term solution.

"The key to energy efficiency in many existing homes lies not in new high-tech solutions, but in technologies that already exist and are proven, such as loft and cavity wall insulation.

"In terms of carbon saved, improving the existing housing stock is 50 times more effective than insisting all new-build housing is zero carbon. Good insulation is only one of a number of improvements that should be made to reduce carbon emissions.

"It is therefore disappointing that other important measures such as replacement boilers and double glazing are not covered by these proposals and there is no help for the average householder who may want to make these carbon-saving investments at a time when household finances are under considerable pressure.

"It is also perverse that we pay the full rate of VAT on some of the key energy saving products – boilers, double glazing – but a lower rate of VAT on the use of the energy itself. Government needs to review the VAT regime in order to increase the range of energy saving products that are subject to the lower rate.

"Other suggestions we have made to government include using the measures recommended in the energy performance certificate when people move house as an incentive to make improvements.

"These could include a rebate on some element of the stamp duty paid provided they take the necessary measures within, perhaps one year of moving or a temporary reduction in the council tax banding of the property once the measures are taken".

 

Stakeholder Response: Chartered Institute of Environmental Health

A spokesman for the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) told ePolitix.com: "The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) welcomes the announcement of more funding for home insulation. It believes that insulation is an important element in dealing with fuel poverty and in reducing energy bills.

"However, the government could do much more to address the problem in the long-term. The CIEH agrees that a windfall tax on energy companies is not an appropriate tool for dealing with fuel poverty but argues that the solution is about more than just providing temporary financial assistance.

"Helping the vulnerable and improving public health will require the government to take a much more proactive approach.

"An important element of this should be to increase funding for private sector housing renewal (no point insulating a house when the roof is leaking and the occupants can’t afford to fix it).

"Environmental health practitioners in local authorities have the tools to act now to reduce fuel poverty but they need more resources to help tackle the problem on a permanent basis. EHPs are ideally placed to identify and assist those most in need of help.

"With potentially millions more people being thrown into fuel poverty this winter, the CIEH is calling for a mature debate about longer-term solutions to the problem."