Yeo slams DECC over unclear Green Deal targets

MPs on the Energy and Climate Change Committee have today published a report- The Green Deal: watching brief -which sets out how it will scrutinise the Government’s flagship energy retrofit policy in the coming years.

The report sets out areas the MPs will monitor, including public awareness and value for money, which have been heavily criticised.

In addition, the committee will track take-up levels, energy and carbon savings, customer satisfaction, and job creation.

Energy and Climate Change Committee chairman Tim Yeo said: “Our role is to hold Government to account. But it’s impossible to do this if the Government itself cannot explain precisely what it is hoping to achieve through its policies.

“It’s unacceptable that, three years into the life of this Parliament, Ministers are unable to explain what success would look like of one of the Coalition’s flagship policies.”

Yeo added that at a time when gas and electricity bills are increasing, improving the energy efficiency in households was crucial.

“My Committee therefore hopes that the Green Deal will be a success. It is only right that such a high profile policy is subject to proper scrutiny so that corrective measures can be put in place quickly if it is failing to deliver,” he added.

The report also identifies a number of potential challenges, which could lead to low take up of the Green Deal. For example, it states that people in rented accommodation might have difficulty gaining consents from their landlords and that cheaper sources of finance might be available from other sources.

Yeo added: “We will be looking to see how many people are taking up the Green Deal and whether they are seeing genuine savings on their energy bills.”

“We will also want to ensure that Green Deal companies are providing a good service to customers to make certain we do not see a repeat of the doorstep selling and mis-selling that energy companies have been engaged in recently.”

Conor McGlone