Tag: Westminster

Nature not a “blocker” to housing delivery, MPs find in new report

Nature is not a “blocker” to delivering new housing, but rather a necessity for building resilient towns and neighbourhoods, MPs argue in a new report.

In its report on ‘Environmental sustainability and housing growth’, Westminster’s cross-party Environmental Audit Committee challenges the “lazy narrative” that nature is a blocker or an inconvenience to delivering housing. 

The Committee finds that the measures contained in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, passing through final stages in Parliament, are not enough to allow the Government to meet its targets on both the environment and housing. 

MPs also find that without further action, severe skills shortages in ecology, planning and construction will make it impossible for the Government to deliver on its housebuilding ambitions. 

A full summary of the Committee’s conclusions and recommendations is included below. 

Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee Toby Perkins MP said: “The Government’s target to build 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament is incredibly ambitious.

“Achieving it alongside our existing targets on climate and sustainability – which are set in law – will require effort on a scale not seen before. 

“That certainly will not be achieved by scapegoating nature, claiming that it is a “blocker” to housing delivery. We are clear in our report: a healthy environment is essential to building resilient towns and cities. It must not be sidelined. 

“There are certainly issues standing in the way of meeting both our housebuilding and environmental targets. 

“For instance, the skills we need in construction, planning and ecology simply do not exist at the scale we need right now. The Government has made welcome investments in construction skills, but it may not be enough, and staff at local authorities and regulators are already stretched to their limit.  

“We also need much better incentives for people to construct and live in carbon-friendly homes, or to retrofit existing ones. That’s why this report suggests innovative approaches to boost manufacturing viability of climate friendly construction products and alter the tax burden in favour of climate friendly homes. 

“It is possible to build the homes we need while protecting a resilient and healthy environment and allowing nature to thrive. Some major changes might be needed, but nature is not the enemy.” 

Nature must not be a “scapegoat” for housebuilding issues 

While the Committee acknowledges and welcomes the Government’s amendments to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB) it says these changes are not enough on their own to ensure the Government can meet its environmental targets alongside housing targets. 

“The Government must not veer down the path of viewing nature as an inconvenience or blocker to housebuilding,” the Committee says. “At worst, this approach could lead to the degradation of the natural world, preventing the achievement of legally binding climate and nature targets, upon which our society and economy depend.” 

Skills shortages put targets in question 

The Committee finds that local planning authorities are severely under-resourced in ecological skills. It heard evidence that staff at Natural England are “stretched to their limits”, that the skills needed to deliver the ecological aspects of planning reforms “simply do not exist at the scale, quality or capacity that is needed”. 

The Committee recommends the Government establish a pilot programme for local ecological resource hubs, available to local authorities facing acute resources challenges, by July 2026. 

It also recommends that the Government set out a realistic analysis of the construction workforce required to deliver housing targets and the skills that will be needed, and to clearly lay out how Natural England will operate amid staffing cuts and the additional responsibilities that will apply when the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is enacted.  

Planning rule changes prioritise growth over the environment 

Throughout its inquiry, the Committee heard repeated concerns that the Government’s changes to the presumption in favour of sustainable development, made in the 2024 review of the National Planning Policy Framework, would lead to the environment being “sidelined”. 

The Committee finds that the present form of the presumption could result in unsustainable and speculative development. The Committee recommends that the Government amend the current definition of the presumption, to give greater weight to sustainability. It should also strengthen safeguards against environmentally unsustainable, unplanned and speculative development. 

More incentives for greener homes 

The Committee concludes that the Government must accelerate policies to decrease the carbon emissions of the built environment. MPs recommend the Government should consider steps it could take to incentivise homeowners, housebuilders, landlords and tenants to favour homes with lower levels of embodied carbon.  

The Committee also recommends the Government review tax policies such as Council Tax and Stamp Duty to consider the merit of offering lower bands of taxation for homes with lower levels of embodied carbon.

Biodiversity net gain needs more time to succeed

The Committee offers support for the government’s Biodiversity net gain policy. It says it is too early to assess the overall success of BNG but warns against introducing new wide-ranging exemptions to BNG. Whilst accepting minor alterations to the policy, MPs say the Government should not exempt all small sites to ensure that the effectiveness of the policy is maintained. 

The Committee also recommends that the Government should: 

  • Incentivise the use of sustainable building materials such as timber or hemp, e.g. by introducing eco-labelling to identify materials with lower embodied carbon and offer support to further expansion of manufacturers in these fields.
  • Consult on incentives to develop houses with lower full lifecycle carbon, such as a levy on new build properties containing higher levels of lifecycle carbon.
  • Prioritise retrofitting over demolition by reducing VAT on retrofit projects from 20% and confirm that a property brought back into use would count towards housebuilding targets. 

Home Secretary: Review of public order and hate crime legislation

Lord Macdonald of River Glaven KC has been appointed to lead an independent review of laws on public order and hate crime. 

Following the terrorist attack in Manchester on 2 October, the Home Secretary announced an independent review of existing public order and hate crime legislation. 

This resulted from concerns around community tensions and the impact of disruptive and intimidating protests and hate crime on the cohesion and safety of society. 

The government will always protect the right to lawful protest and free speech, but we will not tolerate individuals or groups who intimidate others, incite hatred, or create disorder. 

The review will therefore look at the powers police have to manage protests and the current hate crime laws, including offences for aggravated behaviour and “stirring up” hatred.  

It will examine whether existing legislation is effective and proportionate, and whether it protects communities from hate and intimidation.  

It will also consider if the law protects free speech and peaceful protest, while also preventing disorder and keeping people safe.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “The terrorist attack in Manchester on 2 October shocked the nation and showed how hatred and division can fuel violence. It happened at a time of growing concern about protests and hate crime in this country.  

“Our laws must protect the public, while upholding the right to protest and free speech. That is why we have asked Lord Macdonald to lead this review. His experience will ensure it is thorough and independent.  

“Lawful protest and free speech are fundamental rights, but we cannot allow them to be abused to spread hate or cause disorder. The law must be fit for purpose and consistently applied.”

This review follows recent changes to the Crime and Policing Bill, which will require police to consider the overall impact of protests in one place before setting conditions on future demonstrations. 

Lord Macdonald is the former Director of Public Prosecutions and brings extensive legal expertise and independence to this work.  

He will be supported by Owen Weatherill, a senior policing expert who brings operational experience from his role as the National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Civil Contingencies and National Mobilisation. 

The terms of reference for the review will be confirmed in the coming weeks with the review expected to commence imminently and conclude by February 2026.

‘Broken’ careers service funding model to be reformed, UK Government confirms

‘just one meeting between jobseekers and advisors a year is like trying to fill an ocean with a teaspoon‘

Funding for careers advisors will be reformed, the UK Government has confirmed, following criticism of the current model in a report by a cross-party Committee of MPs.

Westminster’s Work and Pensions Committee’s Creating a new jobs and careers service report said that a combination of poor funding and badly designed targets had led to the service spending too little time with people and focusing too much on low impact interventions.

In its response to the report, the Government said that bringing “careers advice in England in house will end the current incentivised model and enable the development of a more integrated service”.

Careers advice in the UK is devolved, so these changes will not automatically apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Government also agreed with the Committee on the importance of recognising the distinct roles of work coaches and careers advisors. It added that it was looking into a “dedicated training pathway” for advisors in addition to the planned Coaching Academy for work coaches.  

MPs on the Committee made their recommendation following fears that the planned Jobcentre-careers service merger would eliminate the distinction between Work Coaches and Careers Advisors, which they thought would reduce the effectiveness of the service.

The DWP also committed to providing certainty to staff at the National Careers Service by publishing a transition plan in the next 6 months. Since publication of the report, the Government has moved to bring the contracts for careers advisors in-house, sparking concerns among advisors over what will happen when their contracts run out on 30 September 2026. 

Committee Chair, Debbie Abrahams said, “We welcome the Government’s recognition that the careers service funding model was broken and that it must be reformed.

“Budgeting, as it does now, for just one meeting between jobseekers and advisors a year is like trying to fill an ocean with a teaspoon.

“The job is about finding out enough about people, their ambitions and interests, their skills, the barriers they face, what drives them, their needs, in order for them to be effective. A new, less exclusive, model would help meet the goals of Government and get people into work that suits them; benefitting jobseekers, employers and ultimately, the economy.

“The recent brief shake-up will help. Giving the DWP sole responsibility over the adult skills brief, instead of sharing with the Department for Education, should help to reduce the incoherent patchwork of services that are available. And bringing the careers service in house, rather than outsourcing, will in time provide clearer lines of accountability, and greater efficiency.

“But we have to recognise that pressing on with little detail on what will happen after current contracts end in September 2026 has caused significant worry among careers advisors. Certainty on this could be the solid foundation that ensures the new system gets off to the best start.

“So, the Government really needs to crack on with fleshing out the detail of the service from 2027 to boost the confidence of advisors and in the new system.”

Could fixed link connections strengthen Scotland’s island economies?

Commons committee to investigate

Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee has launched an inquiry investigating the strategic and economic case for improved fixed transport links between Scotland’s islands.

Transport connectivity is a major challenge for Scotland’s islands, with many island communities currently being connected via ferry services. This lack of fixed-link connectivity can restrict economic development.  

Fixed links to connect the islands, such as bridges or tunnels, are increasingly being considered as long-term solutions. For example, Shetland’s Island Council has approved a feasibility study into building tunnels into undersea tunnel connections.  

Fixed link infrastructure like this has been a success in the Faroe Islands, an archipelago 200 miles further into the Atlantic than the Shetland Islands, which has been building undersea tunnels since the 1960s.  

Scotland’s islands have been highlighted as a key region for economic growth, due to their clean energy, tourism and space sectors.

As momentum grows at a local level, the cross-party committee could examine the economic case for these fixed link projects and the UK Government’s potential strategic interest in supporting this infrastructure.  

Full terms of reference are available on the committee website.

Submissions can be made via the committee’s website until 12 December 2025.  

Connectivity is a crucial issue affecting communities across Scotland, particularly those in remote, rural and island areas, where infrastructure delivery is complex and costly.

Alongside this inquiry into physical connectivity, the committee will shortly be launching an inquiry into digital connectivity.  

Patricia Ferguson, Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, said: “Current transport links between Scotland’s islands simply don’t seem to be up to scratch. Delayed and cancelled ferries cause disruption for entire communities, and  undoubtedly also pose huge barriers to the development of island economies. 

“Fixed link infrastructure projects like undersea tunnels could be transformational for Scotland’s island communities.

“Throughout this inquiry, we’ll be looking closely at the economic case for these fixed link projects, their value for money and, ultimately, whether there could be a strategic interest for the UK Government to support their development.” 

First Private Member’s Bill of new parliament made law by capital MP

Tracy Gilbert MP’s Absent Voting (Scotland and Wales) Bill, the first Private Member’s Bill of the new Parliament, has now received Royal Assent, officially becoming law.

The new legislation will make it easier for voters in Scotland and Wales to apply for a postal or proxy vote in devolved elections, allowing them to do so online.

Currently, voters must apply for postal or proxy votes using physical forms, a process that can be particularly challenging for people with disabilities or those living overseas. The new law will remove those barriers and modernise the voting system ahead of next year’s Scottish and Welsh elections.

Tracy Gilbert MP said: “I’m incredibly proud that my Bill has now become law, and as the first Private Member’s Bill of this Parliament to do so.

“It now gives both the Scottish and Welsh Governments the time they need to implement these changes ahead of next year’s Holyrood and Senedd elections, ensuring voters can benefit from this new, more accessible system.”

Billions squandered on asylum accommodation by Home Office mismanagement

SCATHING HOME AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REPORT PUBLISHED

Flawed contract design and incompetent delivery left the Home Office unable to cope with the surge in demand for asylum accommodation, a report by the Home Affairs Committee has found.

Hotels went from a temporary stop-gap to the go-to solution for asylum accommodation, leading to a failed system that is expensive, unpopular with local communities and unsuitable for asylum seekers.  

As the cost of asylum accommodation contracts more than tripled, inadequate oversight meant failings went unnoticed and unaddressed. The Home Office failed to keep costs down and underutilised mechanisms to penalise providers for poor performance and reclaim excess profits.

No performance penalties are applied for poor performance at Napier, Wethersfield or asylum hotels, despite hotels accounting for over 75% of spending on asylum accommodation. 

Break clauses in 2026 and the end of the contracts in 2029 offer the Home Office an opportunity to end the failed system. However, without a clear long-term plan and the institutional capability to deliver a model that is more effective and offers value for money, past failures risk being repeated, the Committee warns. 

The Home Office’s approach has been a series of hasty, short-term responses. It must now learn from past failures and deliver a clear long-term strategy for asylum accommodation that provides value for money, adequate standards of accommodation and takes account of the impact on local communities.  

Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, Dame Karen Bradley said: “The Home Office has presided over a failing asylum accommodation system that has cost taxpayers billions of pounds.

“Its response to increasing demand has been rushed and chaotic, and the department has neglected the day-to-day management of these contracts. The Government needs to get a grip on the asylum accommodation system in order to bring costs down and hold providers to account for poor performance.  

“Urgent action is needed to lower the cost of asylum accommodation and address the concerns of local communities. While reducing hotel use is rightly a Government priority, there will always be a need for flexibility within the system, and the Home Office risks boxing itself in by making undeliverable promises to appeal to popular sentiment. It shouldn’t set itself up for more failure.   

“The Home Office has not proved able to develop a long term strategy for the delivery of asylum accommodation. It has instead focused on short term, reactive responses.

“There is now an opportunity to draw a line under the current failed, chaotic and expensive system, but the Home Office must finally learn from its previous mistakes or it is doomed to repeat them.”

Edinburgh MP leads the way with first successful Private Member’s Bill

The first Private Members Bill of this Parliament has passed all stages in the Houses of Commons and Lords. The bill, proposed by Labour MP for Edinburgh North and Leith Tracy Gilbert, will make it easier for voters in Scotland and Wales to apply for a postal or proxy vote in devolved elections next year.

The Private Member’s Bill, Absent Voting (Scotland and Wales) Bill, passed its Third Reading in the House of Lords today (Friday 24 October). As no changes were made to the Bill in the House of Lords it will now go forward for Royal Assent.

Tracy Gilbert MP was drawn 12th in the Private Members Bill ballot last September. Twenty MPs are drawn in the ballot, giving them a right to introduce a bill.

Ms. Gilbert’s bill will allow voters to apply for a postal or proxy vote online, making it easier for voters to participate in elections and ending the anomaly in Scotland and Wales where voters can apply online for UK Parliament elections but not devolved elections.

Currently, voters must apply for a proxy vote by sending a physical letter. This can make the process difficult for people with disabilities or for those living outside the country. This necessary legislative change means voters will now be able to apply online for a postal or proxy vote for Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru elections next year.

During the passage of the bill through Parliament, Gilbert won cross-party praise for her bill being called a ‘modern day chartist woman’ by Tonia Antoniazzi MP.

Tracy Gilbert MP said: “I’m thrilled that my Private Member’s Bill is the first of this Parliament to pass both Houses of Parliament. I am grateful for the cross-party support the Bill has received.

“My bill will simplify the process for applying for a postal or proxy vote in next year’s Scottish and Welsh Parliament elections by enabling voters to apply online, extending access to democracy.”

A copy of the Bill can be found here – https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3785

Progress of Private Member Bills (Ballot Bill) (listed in order of ballot)

MemberBillCurrent/Next Stage
Kim Leadbeater, Labour (Spen Valley)Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill Lords – Committee Stage
Max Wilkinson, Liberal Democrats (Cheltenham)New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill Commons – Second Reading
Dr Roz Savage, Liberal Democrats (South Cotswolds)Climate and Nature BillCommons – Second Reading
Clive Lewis, Labour (Norwich South)Water Bill Commons – Second Reading
Josh MacAlister, Labour (Whitehaven and Workington)Protection of Children (Digital Safety and Data Protection) Bill Withdrawn
Dr Scott Arthur, Labour (Edinburgh South West)Rare Cancers Bill Lords – Second Reading
Jim Allister, Traditional Unionist Voice (North Antrim)European Union (Withdrawal Arrangements) Bill Commons – Second Reading
Peter Lamb, Labour (Crawley)Free School Meals (Automatic Registration of Eligible Children) Bill Commons – Second Reading
Alex McIntyre, Labour (Gloucester)Controlled Drugs (Procedure for Specification) Bill Commons – Report Stage
Andrew Ranger, Labour (Wrexham)Licensing Hours Extensions Bill Lords – Second Reading
Jake Richards, Labour (Rother Valley)Looked After Children (Distance Placements) Bill Commons – Second Reading
Tracy Gilbert, Labour (Edinburgh North and Leith)Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill Royal Assent
Linsey Farnsworth, Labour (Amber Valley)Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Bill Lords – Second Reading
John Grady, Labour (Glasgow East)Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill Lords – Committee Stage
Rachael Maskell, Labour (Co-op), (York Central)Short-term Let Accommodation Bill Commons – Second Reading
Ruth Jones, Labour (Newport West and Islwyn)Fur (Import and Sale) Bill Commons – Second Reading
Dr Danny Chambers, Liberal Democrats (Winchester)Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill Lords – Committee Stage
Sarah Owen, Labour (Luton North)Fireworks Bill Commons – Second Reading
Wendy Chamberlain, Liberal Democrats (North East Fife)Gambling Act 2005 (Monetary Limits for Lotteries) Bill Commons – Second Reading
Dr Rupa Huq, Labour (Ealing Central and Acton)Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill Commons – Second Reading

Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund allocation “wholly unacceptable”

SCOTTISH FISHERMEN BEING RIPPED OFF?

Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon is calling on the UK Government to reconsider its approach to funding allocations in the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund as it is “not a fair settlement for Scotland.”

Ms Gougeon’s letter reads:

To: Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Dame Angela Eagle DBE MP

From: Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon 

Dear Angela,  

Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund  

Thank you for your letter of Monday 20 October setting out your intention to allocate the Scottish Government just £28 million of the £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund announced by your government earlier this year.  

The deal that you have presented on the share of this funding to Scotland is wholly unacceptable. As you will be aware, the Scottish fishing sector accounts for over 60% of the UK’s fishing capacity and over 60% of UK seafood exports.

Moreover, more than 75% of all UK quota species is landed by Scottish vessels. Over the past several months, at both Ministerial and official level, we have set out a clear, rational, and evidence-based case for Scotland’s share of this funding to be representative of the relative size and importance of the Scottish sector, and reflect at least the 46% share Scotland previously received from the EU funding allocated to the UK.

Instead the announced allocation of just 7.78% is a grossly oversimplified approach which does not represent a fair settlement for Scotland, a position supported by key Scottish stakeholders.

It is unjustified and nothing short of insulting to the Scottish fishing industry and our coastal communities. It also disproportionately benefits your own fishing sector in England – for whom you have retained over £300 million, despite landing significantly smaller catches than Scotland.  

With the funding being spread over 12 years – and no guarantee that the commitment will even be maintained following this parliamentary term – the deal you have set out means Scotland will have a meagre £2.3 million per annum of additional funding to invest in our marine industries and coastal communities. This is nowhere near enough to support the next generation of fishermen and breathe new life into our coastal communities as your letter sets out.  

This announcement is yet another negative consequence of Brexit which the people of Scotland did not vote for, but for which our businesses and communities are paying the price.

However, more than that, it demonstrates a clear misunderstanding of, and lack of care for, the Scottish fishing industry and our coastal communities by the UK Government.

The fact that this announcement was made within hours of you writing to me and my counterparts in the devolved governments in Wales and Northern Ireland, with no opportunity for discussion, also demonstrates a disappointing departure from your government’s commitment to resetting and renewing the devolution relationship and effective intergovernmental working.

This comes on the back of a similar lack of engagement on the EU deal in relation to fisheries, which will hit the Scottish sector hard. At the same time we are still assessing the likely implications of the scientific advice on mackerel and cod – which are expected to have serious negative impacts for the fishing industry in Scotland.  

I strongly urge you to reconsider this approach, and enter into discussions at the earliest possible opportunity with myself, and our colleagues in Wales and Northern Ireland, to agree an alternative approach which treats each of our respective industries and communities with the respect they deserve.  

I have copied this letter to Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies and Minister Andrew Muir for awareness of the Scottish Government’s position.  

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Mairi Gougeon

The Scottish fishing industry has condemned the UK Government’s “grossly unfair” allocation of funding from its £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund.

Read our full statement below:

Migrants will be required to pass A Level standard of English

Migrants will be required to pass tough new English language requirements under a law introduced at Westminster Parliament yesterday

Migrants will be required to pass tough new English language requirements under a law introduced in Parliament yesterday (14 October), as the UK government continues to replace Britain’s failed immigration system with one that is controlled, selective and fair.  

Immigrants applying through certain legal routes must meet an A level equivalent standard in speaking, listening, reading and writing.  

The Secure English Language Test must be conducted with a Home Office-approved provider, and the results will then be verified as part of the visa application process. 

Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said: This country has always welcomed those who come to this country and contribute. 

“But it is unacceptable for migrants to come here without learning our language, unable to contribute to our national life. 

“If you come to this country, you must learn our language and play your part.”

Laid in changes before Parliament this week, the measures form part of the government’s flagship immigration white paper and Plan for Change to deliver on the priorities of working people for tighter control of who comes to this country while continuing to attract top global talent. 

The time for international students to find a graduate-level job after completing their studies will also be cut to 18 months from the current two years. 

The immigration skills charge (ISC), which is paid by employers sponsoring skilled foreign workers and reinvested in training the domestic workforce, is being raised by 32%. 

The ISC increase is the first since 2017 and will be used to boost investment in British workers and reduce reliance on overseas recruitment. The Parliamentary process to increase the charge will begin later this week. 

To ensure graduates contribute effectively to the economy, the maximum post-study stay will be reduced to 18 months from the current 2 years for most from 1 January 2027. It comes after data clearly showed that many holders had not transitioned into graduate-level employment as intended. 

Finance requirements for student visas will also be increased for the 2025 to 2026 academic year, meaning foreign students will have to demonstrate they have sufficient funds to support themselves. 

A series of changes to position the UK as a global leader in attracting highly skilled talent, outlined in the immigration white paper, and aligned with the UK’s industrial strategy, are also being made. 

Changes include: 

  1. Expansion of the High Potential Individual (HPI) route to graduates from the top 100 international universities, with a cap of 8,000 applications per year. The number of people coming to the UK through the HPI route is expected to double from 2,000 to 4,000, giving graduates from the world’s best universities the chance to base their careers in the UK. 
  2. The world’s most talented entrepreneurs studying in the UK will also be able to seamlessly establish innovative business ventures in the UK after concluding their studies, while transitioning from a student visa to the Innovator Founder route.
  3. Enhancements to the Global Talent route, including an expanded list of prestigious prizes and changes to expand some of the evidential requirements of achievement and contribution for architects. 

The UK government aims to double the number of highly skilled people coming to the UK on our high skilled routes, including the best researchers, designers, and creatives working in film and TV to ensure continued competitiveness in growth sectors. Further changes, including to the Global Talent route, will be made in 2026.

The immigration white paper forms part of the Plan for Change to reform our immigration system, with further measures on asylum and border security to be announced later this autumn. 

In further changes, effective from 3pm today, all nationals of Botswana will now be required to obtain a visa before travelling to the UK, including for short visits.  

This decision comes in response to a high number of Botswana nationals arriving since 2022 as visitors and subsequently claiming asylum, which is a misuse of the UK’s immigration system.

Weak controls and oversight blamed for faulty home installations under energy efficiency scheme

SCATHING REPORT HIGHLIGHTS HOMES INSULATION SCANDAL

  • 98% of homes with external wall insulation installed under the UK government’s ECO scheme require work to correct major issues that will cause problems such as damp and mould. 
  • DESNZ’s consumer protection system, which was set up in 2021, did not alert it to significant issues with the quality of installations until late 2024.
  • The NAO recommends that DESNZ sets out how and when affected households can have faulty installations repaired, and reforms the consumer protection system.
  • Download the embargoed report (PDF)

A new National Audit Office (NAO) report sets out the reasons for failures in the government’s energy efficiency scheme for homes, including poor-quality installations, weak government oversight and inadequate audit and monitoring, which the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) believes have led to tens of thousands of households needing repair work to correct major issues that will cause problems such as damp and mould.

The government’s Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme aims to tackle fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions in Great Britain by requiring energy companies to fund the installation of energy efficiency measures, such as insulation, in homes.

But poor installation work has resulted in an estimated 22,000 to 23,000 homes with external wall insulation fitted under the scheme (98% of the total) and 9,000 to 13,000 homes with internal insulation (29% of the total) having major issues that need fixing. A small percentage of these installations also pose immediate health and safety risks.

Possible explanations why so many installations have been carried out to such a poor standard include an under-skilled workforce, with work being subcontracted to individuals and firms who are not competent or certified; uncertainty over which standards apply to which jobs; and businesses ‘cutting corners’ when undertaking design and installation work.

DESNZ implemented a new consumer protection system for the scheme in 2021, which included appointing TrustMark as its government-endorsed quality scheme. 

But this system failed to alert DESNZ to significant issues with the quality of installations until October 2024, by which time the media had already reported on individual cases of bad mould in homes.

Reasons for the ECO scheme’s shortcomings include:

  • weak government oversight resulting in widespread issues with the ECO scheme not being identified sooner;
  • an overly complex consumer protection system that ultimately failed due to unclear and fragmented roles, responsibilities and accountabilities among DESNZ, Ofgem and private sector certification bodies and scheme providers;5
  • TrustMark’s funding arrangements limiting its ability to have analytical systems fully up and running until the latter half of 2024; and
  • insufficient audit and monitoring, in part due to weaknesses that allowed installers to ‘game’ the system.6

In addition to these issues, in November 2024 Ofgem estimated that businesses had falsified claims for ECO installations in between 5,600 and 16,500 homes, potentially claiming between £56 million and £165 million from the energy suppliers operating under the scheme.7

DESNZ and Ofgem took action once TrustMark made them aware of the extent of the problems. This included asking certification bodies and scheme providers to suspend the worst performing installers; communicating the issues to potentially affected households and to the wider public; and implementing immediate changes to the consumer protection system.

DESNZ also plans to apply the lessons learned from this experience to the design of its future schemes and its forthcoming Warm Homes Plan.

To improve the consumer protection system, and to boost householders’ confidence in government-backed schemes, the NAO recommends that DESNZ:

  • takes clear responsibility for schemes such as ECO, even when they are funded through consumers’ electricity bills;
  • clarifies its approach to repairing faulty ECO scheme installations alongside its Warm Homes Plan;
  • reforms the consumer protection system for retrofit schemes; and
  • reports annually on a statistically robust estimate of the level of fraud and non-compliance in each of its retrofit schemes.

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “ECO and other such schemes are important to help reduce fuel poverty and meet the government’s ambitions for energy efficiency.

“But clear failures in the design and set-up of ECO and in the consumer protection system have led to poor-quality installations, as well as suspected fraud.

“DESNZ must now ensure that businesses meet their obligations to repair all affected homes as quickly as possible. It must also reform the system so that this cannot happen again.”

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Chair of Westminster’s Committee of Public Accounts. said: “The failures of the two current Energy Company Obligation (ECO) schemes are stark, with nearly all external and nearly a third of internal wall insulation fitted under the schemes requiring remediation.

“The potential impact of major issues to the health and safety of affected households must not be understated.

“Despite allegations of fraud, lack of sufficient quality data means that overall levels of fraud in ECO remain unknown.

“DESNZ and Ofgem have been quick to act after becoming aware of widespread problems, but their efforts remain hampered by weak government oversight and an overly complex consumer protection system.

“It is imperative that households receive clarity on how they can fix their homes and a system is put in place whereby these failings do not reoccur.”