Still “plenty of work to do” on new Green Deal plans

Businesses still believe there is “plenty of work to do” on the Green Deal despite the Government bringing out a much-anticipated second round of legislation for the scheme today. The […]

Businesses still believe there is “plenty of work to do” on the Green Deal despite the Government bringing out a much-anticipated second round of legislation for the scheme today. The Green Deal is to help home owners get energy efficiency measures and create thousands of new jobs.

The new fleshed out plans come after six months of consultation with more than 600 responses from industry and are meant give the green light to bring the Green Deal energy efficiency market into operation. The scheme will give upfront loans to people who want to put in energy saving measures such as insulation.

DECC says the policies will support up to 60,000 jobs in the insulation sector alone by 2015, up from around 26,000 today.

Energy Secretary Ed Davey said: “The Green Deal will play a huge role in improving the energy efficiency of our homes and businesses, with ECO making sure that the most vulnerable homes benefit too.  I am determined to make sure that this new market in energy efficiency will deliver the very best deal for consumers.”

The plans also detail the next steps to getting Green Deal and ECO rules set by October, including £1.3bn a year to deliver energy efficiency and heating measures across Great Britain. This cash is due to be confirmed in legislation laid later this week.

Improvements to the consumer protection part of the Green Deal were “particularly welcomed” by Garry Worthington, Head of Green Deal at energy management agency Climate Energy.

He said: “These new safeguards, along with the plans to calculate savings on a daily rather than annual basis, will go a long way in encouraging homeowner and tenants to take advantage of the finance available for energy efficiency improvements.”

However the CBI, which speaks for thousands of UK businesses said there was more to do.

Rhian Kelly, CBI Director for Business Environment policy said: “There is still plenty of work to do. With the launch of the Green Deal expected towards the end of the year, the Government needs to move quickly to put everything in place. It must ensure that businesses who want to get involved are in the best position to do so and put the right policies in place to stimulate consumer demand.”

Latest Podcast