Insulation installers suspended over poor work funded through government energy efficiency schemes

A total of 39 businesses have been suspended from installing new insultation in people’s homes after they were found to have carried out poor quality work under two government-funded schemes.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said that checks by the government-backed quality scheme TrustMark have uncovered examples of substandard solid wall insulation fitted since 2022 under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) 4 and Great British Insulation Scheme.

DESNZ said the government has suspended the companies from the scheme and instructed them to pay to fix the problems. It has told energy regulator Ofgem to take oversight of the work required to put the problems right.

Examples of substandard installation ranged from missing or incomplete paperwork, insufficient ventilation, or missing or exposed insulation, which if left unchecked could lead to damp and mould.

The government said the issues were ‘systemic’ and the result of a failed system launched by the previous Conservative administration.

ECO 4 offers grants for energy-saving measures in private homes including insultation. It is targeted at low-income households with the lowest Energy Performance Certificate ratings. Similarly the Great British Insulation scheme offers funding primarily for homeowners or private renters on benefits with low-rated EPCs.

The government said the issues are limited to work funded through the two schemes. It said: “There is a stronger system of checks and balances in place for other energy efficiency schemes delivered through local authorities and social housing providers. “

DESNZ said the government is overhauling the system of energy efficiency programmes through its Warm Homes Plan. It said: “this will involve rapidly changing the landscape of regulation, spanning from how installers working in people’s homes are certified and monitored, to where homeowners turn to for rapid action and enforcement if things go wrong.”

>>See also: Government proposes changes to energy performance certificates

More than 65,000 households have had insulation fitted through the two schemes.

Miatta Fahnbulleh, minister for energy consumers, said: “I know this news will be concerning for people who have had external or internal wall insulation fitted through either scheme we have inherited.

“That is why we are taking action to put this right, forcing installers to fix any poor-quality installations as soon as possible and at their own expense.”

DESNZ has not identifed the businesses suspended.